Get busy making Lemonade!
Hi friends -
How about the bowl of lemons that life has just dumped in our laps? If you've know me very long, you know I've made a lot of lemonade from the lemons that life has given me, and this will be no exception.
The world is going crazy. People are scared, stressed, confused and fighting rising panic right now. Certain shelves in the grocery store are empty, and lines are long. As I write this, I'm watching Hillary Schieve, Mayor of Reno, signing an emergency declaration due to the Covid19 virus.
Mayor Schieve and I have a certain connection: we've both received life-saving organ transplants. She received a kidney, I received a liver. Because of my transplant, I take immunosuppressant drugs two times a day, every day, for the rest of my life, so that my natural body doesn't attack and destroy my donated liver.
As a result, I'm solidly in the "high risk" group, not just for Covid19, but for every flu bug, cold, pneumonia, and infectious disease that exists. For me, any infection can become a serious medical issue, and that is something that I have to think about throughout my daily activities, every day, whether there's a global pandemic occurring or not.
So ... let's all take a deep breath, shall we? It looks like we're all going to have to take a little break.
Much of my continued survival has been dependent upon me being compliant with my doctors' orders, and that compliance demands that I be constantly aware and proactive in my survival. Persistent hand washing, keeping my distance from people sniffling and coughing, and being willing to commit myself to bed rest and lots of fluids at the first appearance of a headache, cough, cold, or flu.
It's really not that hard, and not that bad. I'm actually looking forward to the next six to eight weeks, as travel and public gatherings are to be avoided. Even today, some of my appearances are being cancelled or postponed, travel arrangements cancelled, and I'm considering cancelling the rest of my public performance dates in the immediate future.
It looks like we'll all be taking a few weeks off, so I'll spend time away from people, skiing, hiking, practicing, shooting videos, writing, preparing for my as-yet-unscheduled recording project.
I hope that you can come to grips with the current crisis gripping the world. I hope that you'll take the time to relax, reflect, stay home, and stay healthy. As for me, I have a few projects that I've been putting off that I'll get done while we all take a little break from our daily routines.
One thing that will continue though, even through this crisis, is my Monday 5pm livestream. In fact, I'm considering streaming more frequently during this period of instability. How do you feel about that? Would you tune in if I was playing more frequently on-line? Drop me a note and let me know, one way or the other, would you?
In the meantime, I hope you're able to find some peace in the midst of this craziness. Have I told you lately how much I love and appreciate you? It's true ... you're awesome!
I'll write more soon ... please subscribe if you want to be kept in the loop ...
With peace and love,
Brother Dan
p.s. Check out this video clip of some of the four-legged residents of my neighborhood, right in the heart of downtown Carson City!