Well, this is awkward.
 
Last month I sent you a long, detailed postcard about why I was moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to wait-out the winter/spring of Covid. 
 
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
 
Instead, I chose to relocate down to Tamarindo, Costa Rica. It’s actually a familiar locale, as I lived here from 2011 to 2012 in the land of surf, sun, and pura vida. ​

I even wrote a book about the experience, South of Normal.
 
And when Costa Rica opened up to all U.S. tourists on November 1st, I thought it was the healthiest and best place for me, mind, body, and soul.
 
I’m sure I’ll write about my new/old home, Tamarindo, a lot in the next few months, but here are 20 quick observations to get us started. After all, things move slowly in Tamarindo, and there's no need to rush or stress.

1. Tamarindo is actually named for a tree and the orange-like fruit here in Costa Rica. Tamarindo trees are found all over the Guanacaste province and look like the wide, leafy arbors with high canopies that you'll see in African landscapes. The pod's contents can be mashed to make an edible pulp and juice, which is perfect on a hot day on the beach. 

2. Tamarindo sits on the pacific northwestern coast of Costa Rica, in the province of Guanacaste and the Santa Cruz canton (the closest small city.) But I prefer to pinpoint Tamarindo just by its map coordinates of latitude: N 10° 18' 0.43" and longitude: E 85° 50' 24.47". 
​
Come to think of it, that would make a cool tattoo!

3. “Tama," as it's sometimes affectionally called, may be world-renowned, but it's a small village, or pueblo, that spends maybe a couple of miles by a mile at most. The last census accounted for only 6,000+ residents, and I've heard there are still only about 10,000 now. 

4. There are a good number of high-end condos and modern developments but they've also carefully curbed zoning, so it doesn't get too commercialized or the ocean view blocked out (with the exception of one monstrosity of a condo complex in the center of town that I have no idea how it was approved). 

​5. In Tamarindo, there are only two main roads through town and about half of them are unpaved. You won’t even find street names or street signs, but people give directions like, “200 meters north from the hotel Botella de Leche” or something like that. 

6. You’ll also see more bicycles, motorbikes, ATVs (many with surfboard racks!), and the rare horse on Tamarindo’s roads than you will cars!

7. The big draw to Tamarindo is the beach, of course, a 1.5 mile stretch of clean, near-white sand that’s level and sufficiently wide. Life in Tama revolves around the scenic beach, as just about everyone comes out in the early morning to walk their dogs, surf, exercise, or sit and enjoy coffee and brekkie. Surfers and sunbathers do their thing all day, and the beach becomes a social gathering point once again at sunset.

​8. Thanks to its close proximity to the equator, every day has about 12 hours of sunlight, with little seasonal changes (except for rain, of course). Likewise, the water temperature in the Pacific Ocean at Playa Tamarindo ranges between 77-86°F all year, which is never too chilly that you need a wet suit, even if you're in the water for hours.

9. Speaking of surfing, Tamarindo was put on the map by Robert August and Michael Hynson in the 1960s and 1970s with their iconic Endless Summer II surf film. Tamarindo took off as an international must-surf destination, and August became a legend. He still lives in Tamarindo, and you can see him strolling on the beach from time to time.

10. Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty, flora, and fauna. In fact, the Central American Nation contains only 0.4% of the world's landmass but holds 5% of its total biodiversity. And Tamarindo is no exception, with plenty of monkeys, sloths, lizards, Leatherback turtles, and a stunning array of bird and fish species. 

​11. You might even be able to catch sight of a whale off the coast of Tamarindo, and there are a few sharks from time to time. (But you’re more scared of them than they are of you.) If that makes you a little hesitant to swim or surf, rest assured that the plentiful crocodiles will probably getcha long before a shark will!

12. You don't find winter, fall, spring, and summer in Tamarindo (or Costa Rica). But you will find a hot and dry season from December to May, and the rainy or green season that culminates in a soaked October. 
​
13. While Guanacaste (where Tamarindo is located) is less humid than other jungle or coastal areas, the rainy season is NO JOKE! I write a lot about it in South of Normal, but life is completely different for the residents, Ticos (the name for Costa Ricans), and crazy people who stay during the wet months. 

14. The other thing you’ll find in Tamarindo is that prices spike during the high season from December through April (Easter). You might be able to rent an apartment for $1,000 per month during the slow season, but then they want $1,000 PER WEEK during the high season! It’s bonkers and leads to a lot of scrambling to keep rent reasonable for long-term residents.

15. This time around, I splurged for a condominium in Playa Langosta, a quiet residential neighborhood on a jungle peninsula adjacent to Tamarindo. There’s only one road in and out, and secluded strips of sand in between rocky crags, a few high-end resorts, and trees growing out of the beach. 

16. There are only a few small restaurants in Langosta and one small grocery store. My condo complex, Peninsula, is way too nice by my humble traveler standards haha, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the two swimming pools and view of the jungle from my balcony.

17. And there's even good Wi-Fi, something that's the bane of my existence because it's hard to find in tropical beach towns around the world. 

18. Although Tamarindo may be a little tropical hamlet, the food scene is vibrant, cosmopolitan, and international. There are plenty of pizza and Italian restaurants with purveyors and chefs straight from Italy, an Argentinian steak house, Caribbean joints, local fresh seafood, Japanese sushi and Asian fusion, and even Middle Eastern and Indian fare. There are also countless boutique hotels, food trucks, and cafes with creative chefs and plenty of vegan or healthy options like acai bowls and fresh fruit smoothies.  

19. Oh, and if you’re a coffee fanatic, Costa Rican java is some of the best in the world!  

20. Costa Rica has plenty of unique customs, like their national saying, pura vida (pure life). Well, Tamarindo has its own micro-culture as well, a blend of surfer, Rasta, skateboarder, hippie, yoga-d out, chillaxed beach vibe. In Tamarindo, shoes are never required, wearing a t-shirt with sleeves is dressing formally, and “manana” means why do it today when it can be put off until tomorrow!?  
​
***
I'll share a lot more about Tamarindo in coming months, but I'll leave you with this: after an incredibley stressful eight months in the U.S., it feels like I can finally breathe again down here by the beach in Tamarindo! 

Your friend,
Norm  :-)

“Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society. It is a good and essential part of my life, a kind of destiny.”
-Diana, Princess of Wales
July 1, 1961 – August 31, 1997
 

Can giving to others enrich our lives, keep us healthy, AND help the world? 

Things are not easy right now for many people, and it’s starting to dawn on us that it may be this way for a while.
 
And even if we’re not personally dealing with the loss of a loved one, financial difficulties, or food insecurity, the echoes of suffering in our world still reverberate within us since we are fundamentally good-hearted, empathetic human beings.
 
In fact, rates of anxiety and depression have reached unprecedented levels in the U.S. and across the world, up threefold since just the start of the year, before the pandemic. In a recent KFF tracking poll, 53% of U.S. respondents reported being increasingly anxious or depressed – and that was just in July. 
 
Likewise, the levels of substance abuse, suicide, and other health conditions due to the mental health crisis may eventually cause more long-term damage than the Coronavirus itself. 
 
So, whether it’s exercise, pursuing old hobbies or rekindling new passions, or endless Zoom chats with friends and family, we’re all struggling to stay mentally healthy and add some joy and light to our lives. 
 
(Note: online shopping may or may not be a positive coping mechanism, but it sure works great for me!)
 
But there’s another method of boosting our happiness and enriching our lives these days: giving.
 
Even before the pandemic, we were giving back, donating, and volunteering more than ever. In 2019, charitable giving reached $449.64 billion in the U.S., which was an increase of more than 5% since the previous year, 2018. 
 
And while corporations and foundations made up a significant portion of that total number, it was actually individual, hard-working Americans who gave the most. In fact, giving from individuals reached $309.66 billion in 2019 or 69% of total charitable gifts and donations.
 
And that just covers monetary donations or financial support. But remember that we’re seeing a whole host of ways people can give of themselves and help others: we’re offering our time, voices, focus, energy, and skills like never before. 
 
If there are any rays of hope during these times, it’s the small stories emerging the reconfirm our humanity:

• Giving a call to talk or going grocery shopping for a lonely senior who lives alone.
• Mentoring someone young, offering to teach them new skills online.
• Mowing the yard and taking out the trash cans for our neighbors.
• Using social media to raise awareness for different causes and charities in need.
• Children with lemonade stands to collect money not for themselves, but to give to their people in their communities.
• Supporting teachers, healthcare workers, and other front-liners who take risks every day to keep us all safe.

 
Of course, we know it feels good when we do something nice for someone else, even if it’s in a “warm and fuzzy” theoretical sense.
 
But it turns out there are some significant and proven benefits when we donate to charity, help someone in need, or just volunteer. 
 
According to numerous credible studies, the tangible benefits of giving include increases in:

1. Feelings of connection and engagement
2. Affirmation of our value to others
3. Levels of life satisfaction
4. Lasting improvements in overall happiness
5. Reduced mortality rates
6. Longevity rates
7. Levels of learning and mental awareness
8. Feelings of daily gratitude
9. Prosocial behaviors
10. Empathy

 
The physiology of charity

When we look at that list, I can't help but notice these benefits are some of the same offered by anti-depressant medications, exercise, or even being in a loving relationship.
 
That’s no coincidence, as scientists have mapped a neural connection in the part of the brain that registers reward processing, like when we eat our favorite food, win a sporting match, or even hit the lottery.
 
In a research study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences, scientists tracked the brain images of participants, paying close attention to how their brain activity changed as a response to altruism.
They found that our brain activity is stimulated in two profound ways when we get in a philanthropic mood and give to others.
 
One is in the mesolimbic pathway, the area that dispenses "feel good" hormones and chemicals like dopamine. The second area of our brain that is stimulated by charitable giving is the subgenual region, which helps us form social attachments.
 
Why do people give?

Now that we understand the physiological basis for why we feel great when we help our fellow woman or man, let's look at the common motivations for doing so. And beware – it's not always just out of the goodness of our heart, but has a more primal or utilitarian basis.
 
One of the best studies into the topic comes from a Professor William Harbaugh at the University of Oregon, who isolated three theories as to why people give to charity or good causes:

1. People give to be altruistic, focusing on making a positive impact or solving a problem, like volunteering at a soup kitchen to help feed the hungry.  

2. The next theory may call into question our motivations, as Harbaugh claimed that some people enjoy the feeling of making “autonomous decisions” about who to help, when, and to what degree, experiencing pleasure from that control or even feelings of power.  

3. Thirdly, people also give to charities because it enhances their social value or boosts their social status. We see evidence of this when we donate to a cause and then share that fact on social media, feeling the reward two-fold.  

Who gives the most?

We mentioned that individuals gave almost $7 out of every $10 in 2019, but who among us gives the most? A study by the University of Notre Dame conducted a study and found these characteristics and demographics of the biggest givers:

• Higher levels of education
• More religious or faith-based
• Homeowners
• Married
• Live in smaller towns – not big cities
• The study also found that people are also far more likely to donate to charitable causes when they understand and can relate to the cause or organization they’re supporting.

 
Additionally, studies show that women tend to increase donations when they are single, the head of the household, or when they earn higher incomes.
 
When it comes to income distribution, you may be surprised to hear that lower-income brackets give a larger proportion of their assets than middle or upper-class households! 
 
The joy of giving never diminishes
​
No matter who you are, how you choose to help others, or what your motivation, there is some more good news about the psychology of altruism: it doesn’t diminish.
 
In fact, the pleasure center in our brain typically releases fewer feel-good hormones and chemicals as a good thing becomes routine. Such is the case when we stockpile nice material things, chase superficial goals, or do things simply because society tells us it should make us happy.
 
So, if we purchase that expensive sports car, win at the casino, or eat delicious food, the level of pleasure we receive diminishes as time goes on – and pretty rapidly, research shows. 
 
However, when donating to charity, volunteering, or giving to help others in some form, the opposite is true. The pleasurable effect and mental health benefits actually do not diminish, but maintain and even grow over time. 
 
I guess it’s true when they say the more love you give, the more you get back!  

***
Norm  :-)

PS This piece was originally written for my friend and mentor, Kelly Resendez and reposted with permission. You can follow Kelly at Big Voices Rise!

​This month, I wanted to bring you inside one of my favorite places on earth - and it's right outside my home town. We'll take a tour of The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library – quite a mouthful, but once you see it, the name will become an afterthought. 
 
Located in New Haven, Connecticut – the home of venerable and prestigious Yale University - ‘Beinecke is essentially where the Yale library system houses all of the good stuff. It’s also one of the largest libraries or buildings in the entire world dedicated to rare books, manuscripts, and historical documents.

In fact, the Beinecke Library houses more than one million books. But that’s just the beginning, as their collection also includes millions of pages of manuscripts, tens of thousands of papyri (scrolls), and countless photos, maps, drawings, paintings, other art and artifacts, and even digital and audio-visual content. 
 
It also hosts endless seminars, conferences, research projects, and visiting exhibits, including from modern and living authors.
 
The featured piece in Beinecke’s collection is The Gutenberg Bible, which was the first book ever created using movable type back in the 1450s (they actually have two in their collection). Only 48 of these bibles still exist, and they’re considered the most valuable books on earth. 

But its books and contents aside, the attraction of the Beinecke Library is the building itself, which is as unique and breathtaking as anything you’ll see in the world.  


Built in 1963, the building rises six stories from a stone-lined sunken courtyard that's typical for Yale University. But the structure is anything but typical, a rectangular white box that sits on inverted triangular "pylons." Those pylons only stand a few feet from the ground to the base of the library's structure, but they extend down a full 50 feet ​beneath the earth, all the way down to bedrock.

​Within the rectangular metal structure sits a honeycomb-like frame, with 15 individual frames running lengthwise, five vertically, and ten deep. The layout of these “cells” follows the Golden Ratio, which is prevalent in mathematics as well as the layout of early books: 3:1:2.
 
Within each of those frames is a piece of white translucent marble. ​

There are no windows and only one front entrance, the structure completely uniform and without variation otherwise. The veined marble façade is actually made of special marble and granite from a quarry in Danby Vermont. Although each piece is massive, they’re milled to a thickness of only 1.25 inches, allowing sunlight to filter through so they’re translucent when you’re standing inside. ​

​Depending on the time of day and how sunny it is, you'll see an endless array of colors and subtle patterns on each piece of marble, essentially glowing with natural light even though it's windowless.
 
Due to its aesthetics as much as its contents, the Beinecke Rare Book Library has been called a “jewel box” and “laboratory for the humanities.”
 
Inside the library, the visual is no less jaw-dropping, dominated by a massive central tower that runs the whole six stories from floor to ceiling, with glass walls encased in stark black metal frames.
 
This library-within-a-library safeguards 180,000 of the rarest and most precious volumes in the world.
​

The glass-encased central tower is perfectly climate controlled with the temperature/humidity etc. to preserve these ancient manuscripts.
 
Of course, if you’re the caretaker of a rare library, preventing fires is a special concern, but you definitely can’t just turn on the sprinklers. So, in the event of a blaze, that glass-enclosed central tower can also be flooded with a mixture of Halon 1301 and Inergen fire suppressant gas, squelching any fuel the fire needs to burn. 
 
At first, the central stack was flooded with a carbon dioxide mixture if the fire alarm went off, but they changed that with the realization that any unfortunate librarians working in that area would be instantly asphyxiated. ​

But fires aren’t the only threat. In 1977, an infestation of death watch beetles was discovered within the library, so they developed a unique method of controlling the pests before they are their way through invaluable tomes. In case of any insect outbreak, the library’s caretakers can actually freeze the books and other documents at −33 °F (−36 °C) for three days, a method that’s now been adopted for libraries with special collections around the world. 
 
Fires and pests accounted for; nefarious human intentions are sometimes harder to police. In 2005, a well-known antique dealer named Edward Forbes Smiley III was caught cutting maps from rare volumes with an X-acto knife! Since the library welcomes tens of thousands of scholars and special guests from academia every year, Smiley almost got away with cutting out these maps while in the reading room, which he intended to hide, smuggle out of the library, and sell on the black market. 

Thankfully, Smiley’s plot was foiled when he dropped the X-acto knife on his way out, and he was arrested and thrown in prison for several years. Of course, security was ramped up after the incident, and you can’t bring any objects, bags, or cell phones into the library. 
(Do I need to mention that you can't simply check out the first bible ever printed and just pay late fees if you don't return it?!)
 
While you think we may have all bases covered, remember that the library was built in the 1960s, the height of the Cold War and atomic age. At the time, there were real concerns about what would happen to humanity's most treasured books in case of a Soviet nuclear attack. So, the myth is that in the event of a nuclear bomb hitting nearby New York City, for instance, the whole central stack could be mechanically lowered into the ground and then sealed up, serving as a bomb shelter for the books.
 
However, that myth has since been dispelled. In reality, there are two levels of basement floors under the library that extend out under the Hewitt Quadrangle, containing secured reading and research rooms, offices, and storage areas. Further down, there's also an underground stream, so it seems impossible that the central tower lowers into the ground in the event of a nuclear attack!
 
So, you might be wondering where the name ‘Beinecke’ comes from? The library was a gift from three members of the Beinecke family who were Yale alumni, endowing the university and building to serve as “a source of learning and an inspiration to all who enter.”
 
I’d say they definitely succeeded, and I try to visit the Beinecke Library for inspiration every time I’m back visiting my hometown of Hamden, Ct, which is only a couple of miles away from Yale.
 
If you’re ever in the area, give it a visit! 
(And say ‘what’s up’ if I happen to be around, too!)
 
-Norm :-)

Watch this short video about the Beinecke Library or check out their website here.

​I’m trying to get back to the Philippines, but the universe really isn't cooperating.  
 
I’ve lived in the Southeast Asian nation of 7,500 islands for the last four years and was thoroughly settled in when the whole Coronavirus pandemic went from a back-page news story to overtaking our world.

My daily To-Do list included items like "Get water" and searching for a working ATM, since the banks, stores, and hotels were closing in large numbers every day.  I would take out as much cash as possible early every morning, full well expecting to get jumped or robbed, before running straight home.
 
It was time to get the hell out!
​

With an incredible amount of luck and the help of the lone travel agent still working, I grabbed the last seat on the last evacuation flight on March 21 before the airline shuttered for good.
 
I traveled from the Philippines to Dubai and then on to New York, landing on March 22, 2020. (Little did I know I’d land in the world’s Covid epicenter at the time, but that’s another sh*t show.)
 
Since then, I’ve been safe and healthy here with family in Connecticut, a little stir crazy but no worse for wear. I have no idea when they'll let tourists back into the Philippines, but I want to be ready.

​You see, my US passport is still perfectly valid…but just until April of 2021. I don't know if you're aware, but most countries have an entry requirement that your passport must be good for at least six months after you land, or they won't let you in. So, I thought this was either the best time or worst time in history to renew my passport!

The normal passport renewal offices are either closed or anticipating six-month turnaround times as a best-case scenario. (Hell no!)
 
My only other option is an expedited passport renewal service, which means paying big money to a private agency who reserves your line in queue and then processes your application for you.
 
I called about ten of them around the country and got a wide range of information and options, some of which were so scary how responsible and inaccurate they were. 
 
I ended up choosing a passport expediter agency in New York City because:
 
1) they actually had someone answering the phone, 

2) Haidy (we're on a first-name basis) was helpful and answered all of my 100 questions patiently, and 

3) New York is a short drive away if I have to go hunt them down if they disappear with my passport.
​

​The problem is that the US government still isn't processing expedited passports. In fact, they're just at Phase 2, and they need to be at Phase 3 for passport offices and expedited services to start again. Haidy is optimistic that will happen soon (and maybe even this week!), but the rest of the country seems to be playing a game of ten steps backward after rushing to take one step forward, so who knows?
 
Either way, since they have my passport application, new photos, plenty of my money, and my actual passport, I’ll at least be in line once they do open up, which is sure to bring a rush of thousands of eager travelers.
 
So, I estimate my brand-new passport will show up at my front door anywhere from mid-September to right before Christmas time, 2025. 
 
Since I have plenty of time to plot my grand escape from the US, I thought I’d do a little geeking-out on the whole concept of passports.
 
Here’s what I found: 

• Currently, about 147 million Americans have valid US passports, which is a major portion (about 45 percent) of our total 325 million population. For some reason, I have it in my mind that Americans don’t travel internationally a whole lot, but that’s an impressive number of passports.

• If you live in the United States and don't own a passport, don't despair – there are still plenty of places you can travel. In fact, you can Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, all thanks to your US citizenship.

• Our antiquated system of physical, paper passports also leaves the door open for fraud, theft, and counterfeiting. In fact, INTERPOL reports that more than 40 million US passports have been stolen (not lost) since 2002.   


 From identity thieves to immigration scammers to terrorists, a whole lot of illicit parties want to get their hands on a US passport. Of course, no one knows how many fake or altered US passports are out there, but the US government has had a whole passport crimes division, Diplomatic Security (DS), since 1916. They maintain an international database of lost or stolen passports or those shady persons who have been flagged.

• Living or traveling abroad a lot, I do know that you can get a counterfeit US passport for about $5,000 USD or so in places like Thailand or Cambodia. (I know a guy who knows a guy.)

 
Of course, we expect that North Korea is the largest producer of counterfeit US passports since that’s also true of our US currency.

You can actually be denied entry into a country or not allowed to board a flight if your passport doesn’t have enough blank pages left.

• Most countries now also require that your passport will be good for three to six months after your entry. So, even if your US passport does not expire for 5 months and 29 days, you may still be denied entry! 

 
A good number of people get caught with this little-known and unwritten rule, and they’re not allowed to board or forced to get on a plane and head home from their destination’s airport – at their own expense!

• Immigrations officials in any country can also deny entry if a passport is damaged. But it’s a completely subjective standard, and you can have a disgruntled or cranky immigration officer tell you that you can’t enter just because your passport is faded, ripped, worn, or damaged by water at one time. 

 
While this isn’t common (people usually get their passports renewed if they’re in bad shape), I did have this happen to a friend – he arrived in Costa Rica, but the contentious immigration officer wouldn’t let him in based on the condition of his US passport! He had to get on a flight right back to the US and wasted a ton of time and money.

• Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is the only person in the world who doesn’t need a passport to travel internationally. Even the Pope and the rest of the British royal family all need passports for travel, but not the Queen! 

 

• Presidents from around the world do need passports to travel, but they receive special diplomatic passports that allow them to travel freely to most countries without visas. In the US and other nations, these presidential passports are good for life and extend to their immediate families. ​​

• Do you remember the 2004 Steven Spielberg movie, The Terminal? In that flick, main character Tom Hanks is forced to live in an airport terminal for a while due to visa problems and the rouge status of his home nation.

 
Well, that plot is based on a real situation in which an Iranian man couldn’t present his passport to immigration officials in France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. The Iranian refugee, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, had his travel documents stolen in 1988, so he was stuck inside the airport and not allowed to leave or pass immigration.
 
He ended up living in the airport terminal for 17 years until he had to be taken to a hospital in 2006. 17 Years – that's insane!

• Each year, a metric called the Henley Passport Index (HPI) ranks all 199 passports in the world based on how many countries you can enter without a visa. 

Update: On June 15th, 2021, Juneteenth was  declared an official federal holiday, a historic victory for the recognition of the plight of Black American history and racial equality. Please read on for some background info and context about the national holiday from a blog I wrote this time last year.

​***
​June 19th is an important date in American history, commonly known as Juneteenth. This cause for celebration marks the de facto independence day for African American slaves in the United States more than 150 years ago.
 
It was June 19, 1865, when US General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and shared the news that enslaved African Americans were now free.
 
That date still stands as a grand reason for celebration every year, often called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. Every June 19th in communities across the U.S. there are parades, pageants, festivals, concerts, plenty of traditional food, and lots of cultural and historical education, all in the name of freedom.

Whoa. 
 
That’s the feeling we get every time we turn on the news or check social media these days, as things seem to keep getting worse.
 
It’s hard NOT to feel down, depressed, and despondent during these unprecedented times, with millions of people sick, thousands dying, and the whole economy shut down. 
 
There seems to be no quick solution or even solid answers, and it sure feels like the average person has been left to his or her own devices.
 
It’s all too much.
 
Then again, in those rare occasions that I'm able to throw the covers off and actually get out of bed, put down my third bowl of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch (note: I highly recommend it), or stop walking in circles around the house like a zombie, I realize that maybe things aren’t completely hopeless.
 
In fact, the sun is shining. I’m blessed to still have a roof over my head and food on the table, and the ability to control my own destiny, no matter how difficult that task may seem.
 
As usual, things may not be quite as bad as they seem. 
 
I can hit you with rosy platitudes like “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” or even start singing “Don’t worry; be happy,” but I’m not going to minimize what we’re up against (and you don’t want to hear my singing!).
 
Furthermore, intangibles and Trumpian double-speak do us no good at this point. We need some real and substantial cornerstones that make us feel optimistic about coming days.
 
So, here are 10 things to feel ridiculously, gleefully, unabashedly hopeful about:

1.  Animal shelters are emptying That's great news if you're a pet lover, as people are adopting and rescuing dogs, cats, and other lovable critters at a record rate. In fact, some dog shelters have posted videos lately, showing that they're completely empty! It turns out, we all want a lovable four-legged friend at home to keep us company.

​(My dog, Pupperoni, is patiently waiting for me to return to the Philippines or I'd adopt five more here in Connecticut!)

2.  The words ‘neighbor’ and ‘community’ mean something again
During good times, we were all a little guilty of fortifying ourselves in our McMansions and going about our own business.

​But now, people are more interested in helping, supporting, and just getting to know those around them again. We're sitting on our front porches and saying hi, making meals for seniors, and giving away things we used to try to sell. Young people, especially, are stepping up and showing character.

Isn’t it ironic that we’re more isolated than ever but feel a new sense of communal and civic pride?

3.  Mom-n-Pop businesses are getting love
I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the rejuvenated relationship we have with local restaurants, Mom-n-Pop stores, and neighborhood businesses that are still operating. It seems like we appreciate them more than ever, and we’re actively supporting them with our dollars, (our stomachs), and by spreading the word. 
 
Think about when this is over; will you head to Chilis or Bed, Bath, and Beyond?! No! You’ll run to a local or Mom-n-Pop business to eat, drink, and shop to your heart’s content!

4.  In some ways, we're becoming more human
As we traverse this storm of suffering with no relief in sight, I've noticed that people are becoming more human again. I liken it to the days after 9/11, when everyone waved and said hello, held the door open for each other, and generally remembered that we share the planet with others.

In fact, charity donations and volunteerism have skyrocketed already during this crisis, a heartwarming trend I expect to continue. 

5.  We have time again​
Are we finally stopping to smell the roses? Looks like it, as we finally have a moment to pause, breathe, and not be rushed every minute of every day.

​Sure, we're bored, but our family dinners have become longer, we're talking to friends and family more than ever (even if it's virtually), and we're dusting off long-forgotten hobbies and passions. We're taking bike rides, doing yoga, learning (online) and reading, and taking walks with our kids every sunset. There may not be too many silver linings to these challenging times, but the fact that we can hit pause on the world for a moment is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

6.  People are getting their priorities straight
​Although what’s to come will be extremely painful, we also are recalibrating our priorities, which will have a positive effect for the rest of our lives. All of a sudden, we are filled with appreciation just to have a hot meal, the chance to talk to an old friend, or when we get to hug our family safely every night. And just being healthy for another day feels like an enormous blessing.
 
Maybe we needed a little wake-up call? 

Well, this is it, and many of us are already listening, focusing on simplifying our lives and living with newfound gratitude.

7.    Nature is our saving grace!
​My anxiety (ok, abject panic!) often rises to a boiling point when I stay inside to work, watch the news, or scroll through social media. Then, I step outside, and everything feels better. 

Even a few minutes out in my backyard or at the local park reminds me that some of the best things in life are the fresh air (allergy season notwithstanding), blue skies, blooming flowers, and wild animals. 
 
Many of us are lucky enough to experience nature in one way or another, and the planet even seems to be healing itself a little with less pollution and more space for wildlife to roam again.

A lot of people around the world (more US people will start doing this if they're smart) are even starting to plant home gardens and grow their own food. Clean energy may even become more sustainable through all this. Hell, maybe there is just a spark of hope for the planet? 

8.  We have a new appreciation for the little people (who, it turns out, were never little at all!)
We'll look back at these dark days and remember the heroes, new leaders, and regular people who exhibited remarkable courage and sacrifice. We all have a new appreciation for teachers, police officers, first responders, doctors and nurses, bus drivers, grocery store workers, social workers, and all sorts of other extraordinary humans that sometimes go unappreciated. 
 
I'm sure you've seen the videos of New Yorkers applauding and cheering their local healthcare workers during the nightly 7 pm shift change. I propose that we keep that tradition alive after this is all over – and expand it to show love and respect for a whole lot more "little people" who are huge in our lives.

9.  Change is coming
Just a few weeks ago, the world we live in now would be inconceivable.

(Would you ever imagine that you're required to wear a mask when walking into a bank?!)

Absolutely everything has changed, and we're still trying to wrap our collective psyche around that. 

There will be pain and suffering to come; there's no avoiding it. But this grandest of transformations will also bring a chance to reinvent just about every aspect of our society - and even the human experience.  We are blessed and cursed with the responsibility of rebuilding our world, and no one knows exactly what that look like except that it will be new.

Change is inevitable as it is imminent. It's now the age of rebirth for activists, artists, healers, designers, dreamers, teachers, empaths, environmentalists, inventors, underdogs, outcasts,  leaders, and, especially the youth, as we've turned this world into a fuster cluck and it's time to let the next 

The meek may just inherit the earth, after all...and I'm hopeful that they'll take far better care of it than we ever did.

10.  People are ready to start living again 
Psychologists outline a process that we go through whenever we suffer a grave loss or tragedy, with stages from shock to denial, anger, bargaining, depression, reconciliation, and then, acceptance. 
 
I don't know about you, but I think they're missing a couple of stages like, "Wearing the same sweatpants for 72 hours" and "Drinking wine at 10 am while holding a full conversation with the mailbox."
 
But there will be an eighth stage at the end of all this: Ready.
 
People will be ready:
Ready to work.
Ready to rebuild.
Ready to experience.
Ready to learn.
Ready to heal.
Ready to give.
Ready to connect.
Ready to love without censor or fear.
 
Very soon, we’ll be ready to LIVE again!
 
That alone is something to feel incredibly hopeful about, and I think it’s coming sooner than we may realize.
 
Trust me when I tell you; You’ll want to be around for the dancing in the streets after these dark days are over!

-Norm  :-)

PS If you found this helpful or uplifting at all, can you please do me a favor and share it on social media? Thanks a billion!

Our only bad vibe came when two tourists – I’m guessing they were from Singapore or something – were protesting when asked to pay a 50 Peso fee to go further. I gently reminded the guy that he was being a complete dick because it’s only one dollar and these people are literally living in dirt just trying to get by. 
 
He just kept hemming and hawing while his friend vaped. What a d-bag.

I snapped a few photos, guzzled my coconut water, and signaled to Fatima that we should keep going before we got too comfortable. The crucible of the volcano was only 1,000 meters away now, but the rest of the way was even more steep with no shade cover at all.
 
That last leg was impossibly hot, but it was worth it when we reached the ridge of wild grass and red rocks that descended down into the crater lake on the other side. It was a steep drop, and the path along the rim of the volcano was only a foot wide at best, with no ropes, guard rails, or nets below. ​

Along the hour-long walk, Fatima confessed to us that she’d actually never taken that Spanish Trail in her year as a tour guide, so she was thankful that she was learnig soemthign from us! Enlivened that we were interested in her, her life, and her family, she welcomed us to her home when we passed by her four-house village, too.
 
We all took a break in the shade of the front porch as she collected a pitcher of cold water from inside. This was a big deal for her, and she glowed with pride to have two genuine new friends spend time at her house.
 
Remarking that my travel companion was so beautiful, she offered that she once wanted to be a model, too, through sugar cane-worn teeth and still-young, radiant face. 

We thanked her for her hospitality and I put the water glass to my lips and pretended to drink, pouring out half of the water on the ground when she wasn’t looking. Since there’s no way it was filtered water, it could actually be dangerous for me to drink with a delicate foreign stomach, but I didn’t want to offend her by not drinking. It worked like a charm and she had no idea.
 
We continued walking and passed a smattering of school kids coming home from their half day in class, wearing mismatched uniforms based on what they could afford. Fatima explained that there were so many kids on the island but only a few teachers, so they had to break the school days in half so every kid would at least get some education daily.
​

But before I could even propose that we try to check on her, Joy had already texted Fatima and heard back. She was ok, but they had been evacuated not to safety on the “mainland” of Tagaytay or Batangas, well-off communities that surrounded the lake, but to a different island on Taal Lake. ​