In the eye of the storm

Last Thursday was the beginning of a crazy roller coaster week for me. I got a call that my dad was in the hospital, they thought he had meningitis or encephalitis. Scary. Luckily it turned out it was pneumonia, but he spent a few days in the hospital on oxygen and antibiotics etc. Over the next few days we realized something weird was going on. My dad has been on medication for anxiety and depression for years and something had triggered a huge downswing for him. For anyone who knows someone who suffers from depression you know this is scary. The worst part is that you can't fix it, well for me it is anyway. Watching someone you love try to get through that is one of the hardest things I've had to do. My first thoughts when I was driving to the hospital when he was originally admitted was "there goes all my requirements for the day" and that was the last I thought of it. After they had stabilized him and I went home, everyone was gone to kung fu. The house was empty and quiet. I went down to the basement and was able to finish all my push ups, sit ups, forms and finally, my meditation. It was a blessing to have something to take my mind away from worrying and analyzing. I had not expected to find a haven in kung fu. I realized that the physical aspects of the UBBT requirements have given me an outlet for the emotions that can build up and overwhelm me at times. Physically exhausting myself gave my mind the ability to find peace in the whirlwind.