Faith is not tangible but it is there, a mindset, a feeling, strong motivation for making through the most difficult challenges. A recent cover of Bloomberg magazine featured an artistic image of US President Biden with the line “Move fast and fix things …” eluding to his first 100 days. We all want quick fixes of broken economies, civil unrest, and in our personal pain (from self meds to “ridding ourselves of toxic people” ) but do we look in the mirror? Do we clean our own internal house ? From our choice of words, to the food we eat, the air we breathe (as they say there is no “plan B” to care for our planet 🌍), and our health literacy about our self care and community care is of vital importance to us as local and global citizens.

Over a decade now, I’ve been teaching a course called “Developing the Global Citizen” a hodgepodge of interdisciplinary information and tasks aimed to help increase student awareness of individual and social responsibility as each are challenged to reflect on common issues as well as career development, communication, even corporate responsibility and pandemics! Most students reflect on how much they learned years later. That said, we touch upon health in my courses as a combo of mind, body, spirit but seeing since I cannot mention a specific religious belief the idea of “wholistic health” is certainly one we all can identify with.

The importance of “May day” is not just dancing around the May pole and gathering flowers 💐 , it is about labor laws and being mindful of all our “rights.” This year May 1st was special to Christians of the Eastern Orthodox faith as they celebrated Easter weekend. After one year of lockdowns and not going to church for many the opening of places of worship is their personal “resurrection” back to normalcy.

As George Michael’s song FAITH this year many of us identified …“you gotta have faith” or perhaps 🤔 with SEAL who sang “Crazy”…. we need to survive with humor, social support and spiritual strength as we do not LIVE alone. And if you do isolate ask Why? Deal with your fears, listen 🎧 to affirmations change your self talk. This is faith…. surviving and coping with the most difficult challenges. In these post-covid days we need to continue believing that ‘we will overcome.’

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So important to detox yourself, and clean house!

Build faith in your own abilities but also a strong spiritual foundation, as only this can “weather” the elements. Your own experiences can truly help others learn to better cope and survive. Sharing information and advice is caring for your fellow human beings. This last year was one of strong spiritual building for many of us and a show of faith.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don‘t see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King, Jr.