Something good about being sick

Something good about being sick
· I seem to have had more sick days, already, this winter, than in years. It is a reminder that even good hearted people who lead reasonably non-dissipated lives, eating healthy food and taking regular vitamins can get sick too. Microbes, viruses and metastasizing cancer cells do not discriminate, though healthy bodies and positive mental attitudes may make one more resilient in the face of attack. Though I was sick for a month, and a sporadic cough remains, I worked for at least a few hours every day (which is not necessarily something to be proud of).
· But the reduced energy levels that invariably accompany being sick did compel me to reflect more on efficient time management. I didn’t have the physical and psychic resources to solve every problem by getting up earlier and leaving my office later. I had to put some things aside, say ‘no’ more often, think more carefully about seeking new opportunities to make a difference or being helpful. I did become more efficient, and more realistic about my daily ‘to do’ list. I did stick, fairly conscientiously, to the discipline of preparing such a list, every day. Among other things, this might be good preparation for growing old, which at some point does reduce one’s energy level – this doesn’t seem to have happened in my case yet. My father, who will celebrate his 94th birthday next weekend reminds me periodically, “you probably don’t really believe that you will get old, but you will!”
Blogging as a genre and discipline
· Having not yet achieved the discipline of writing a daily blog, I can only admire those earlier diary writers who wrote faithfully every day. Are there any who still keep to this custom? I would be interested to know.
· Of course the function of a diary was different. For the most part, diaries were not written with the expectation that they would be widely read; perhaps not read by anyone. Thus it was possible to share – privately – the most intimate details of one’s life. If diaries were later
discovered, they could provide a wealth of information for biographers and historians.
· A blog is not private. Anyone with internet access, reading knowledge of English (or another language in which it is written) can read it. But relatively few are likely to do so – though perhaps more than we think. This blog receives few written comments, but many of my Anderson Hall neighbors, and other university students too, say they do read it.
· Eleanor, Roosevelt, the wife of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote a daily column, entitled my day. Apparently, she kept this up for years. I must see if there columns are posted on the internet, or perhaps available in book form – in the library.