Riding camels around the great pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
This weekend I turn 65. In anticipation of that big milestone, I began planning a trip to Spain and Portugal late last year. We were to fly out of Los Angeles on the 12th of May and, perhaps like many of you, my plans have disintegrated because of the current situation. At first we were hopeful that we could make the trip later this year. However, as it stands even those plans are too uncertain. But rather than throw myself a pity-party, I decided that I would go through all of my photos from all my previous trips taken during the last 25 years and pick out the ones that meant the most to me. And you know what? Just doing that lifted my mood AND reminded me of how very fortunate I’ve been in my life. If you enjoy hearing about travel and don’t mind looking through a few photos, this week’s post is all about that. My hope is that it inspires you to think back and remember the travel highlights in your own life as well as feel gratitude for the places and people you’ve seen along the way.
Like most everyone I know, my husband Thom and I are focused on staying as healthy as possible these days. Nearly everything you read or hear offers suggestions about what to do to avoid the virus and stay safe. However, I don’t believe there is nearly as much focus on what we can and possibly should be doing to stay sane and psychologically healthy. That’s why when I came across the words “psychological immune system” this week, it hit me that maintaining that immunity is equally as important as our physical health. So here’s what I learned about the term as well as a few ideas that we can all use to keep our mind and spirit strong and operating optimally as we go through this experience. 
You might think it strange to be writing about luck or privilege with all the news about the Coronavirus or COVID-19 in the airways this week. But as luck would have it, I was offered a free book on the topic that had me asking myself, “Is it luck if you don’t catch an illness?” Likewise, are you unlucky if you do? Does love, wealth and happiness depend on luck? And if luck is indeed involved, is there anything we can do to increase it for ourselves? After finishing the book and listening to a couple of podcasts on the topic, I’ve come to the conclusion that yes, what we typically call luck is involved, but so is privilege. And perhaps best of all, there are steps we can take to increase our luck no matter where we find ourselves on the privilege-scale today.