Good Morning!
Welcome to the wabi-sabi letter, the digital newsletter that promotes healthy living, wellness, mental health awareness, fitness, positive habits, and all around happiness. Clear your head and cleanse your inbox with a tiny space for wellness as you set your intentions for the day. Badabing badaboom.
A Necessary Evil: Updates on Mask Guidance from the CDC
According to the New York Times, The C.D.C. said Americans should resume wearing masks in areas where there are more than 50 new infections per 100,000 residents over the previous seven days, or more than 8 percent of tests are positive for infection over that period. Health officials should reassess these figures weekly and change local restrictions accordingly, the agency said.
By those criteria, all residents of Florida, Arkansas and Louisiana, for example, should wear masks indoors. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. counties qualify, many concentrated in the South. It may be that encouraging mask wearing again may help behavior model for those who have not been vaccinated. A free for all honor system (wear masks if unvaxed) is tough to police without any system, so in theory encouraging the prosocial behavior of wearing masks again for all people will help cut down on those unvaxed out and about (and at risk).
The agency said that even vaccinated Americans in areas without surges might consider wearing a mask in public indoor settings if they or someone in their household has an impaired immune system or is at risk for severe disease, or if someone in the household is unvaccinated.
Action Item: It’s a confusing time for people as we're being told different messages at different times. Check out the CDCs guide for When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated for more information.
Earth Overshoot Day 2021
Earth Overshoot Day is the day of the year when humanity has used more ecological resources than the Earth can naturally regenerate over an entire year, according to calculations by York University's Ecological Footprint Initiative.
In 2021, it falls on Thursday, July 29—nothing to celebrate, especially considering that last year's Earth Overshoot Day was a whopping three weeks later, on August 22. Our global carbon footprint has increased up to 6.6% compared to 2020, proving that emissions reductions from the pandemic were temporary.
Laurel Hanscom, the CEO of the non-profit that popularized Earth Overshoot Day, tells mbg that she hopes we can push back the date "by design rather than disaster" moving forward. Since carbon emissions make up the majority of our ecological footprint, those will require the most attention. "The best thing we can do is reduce emissions and preserve the natural carbon sinks that exist on the planet," Hanscom says of how we can push this bleak occasion back.
Action Item: Check out the full article on Mind Body Green that details 8 organizations that you can get involved in to help the mission of reducing Earth Overshoot and resource conservation.
15 Minute Meditation for Your Energetic Body
This meditation can either be done resting on your back (á la Shavasana) or in a seated, more classic meditative posture. While I really enjoy doing this work in Shavasana, if you are feeling particularly sleepy, you might choose an upright posture that will keep you slightly more alert for the next 15 minutes. Get comfortable using every prop you need to feel warm and supported.
Close your eyes and take a few moments to just be. No work to be done yet. Just commit to remaining here with curiosity and no fixed agenda.
Begin by bringing the awareness or attention just to the perimeter of your own body. You might notice that you are pulled out toward a noise or thought of something on your to-do list. Just gently corral your attention back as many times as you need to.
As you settle here, start to become aware of the sensations in your body. Notice how the parts of your body that are in connection to the floor underneath you feel. What is the sensation of the clothes on your skin? No need to fix anything; just follow the sensations in your body. You might notice a particular symmetry or asymmetry in your own body. You might become aware of a holding, contraction, or spaciousness in your form. Just let your awareness trace the sensations in the physical form for a few minutes without the need to control, label, or push away anything that you find.
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You're amazing. Enjoy the world today.
Love,
wabi-sabi team