by Mary Wakefield Buxton –
URBANNA — Everyone deals with worry and constant barrage of troubles in life, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine has added even a new layer of stress. Being away from home during this tragic event has probably exacerbated my anxiety.
I think the fact even though then very young, I do remember my parent’s anxiety during World War II and as a history major and a lifelong student of history, that earlier era of my memory of extreme suffering and massive loss of lives over Hitler’s expansion in Europe along with Italy and Japan’s conquests of neighboring territories, returned to me 1,000 fold.
And it turned out to be even worse after the war when Russia sealed off territories they took over after the war, the “Iron Curtain” appeared and the beginning of the Cold War era between the East and West, along with the threat of the atom bomb and later nuclear arms unleashed even more memory of anxiety.
It’s not just senior citizens that have acute memory of WW II and its aftermath but immigrants to our country from European nations whose families suffered from both the war and communist expansion along with Oriental immigrants to America who experienced similar horrors on their side of the globe. Many are worried that Taiwan will be the next area to be invaded by its aggressive neighbor and chances are that event would also end up being a bloodbath.
In the past when I have felt anxiety, I have had “Dandy.” A cocker spaniel may not be the same as my old standbys, golden retrievers, which I enjoyed in my younger years. I even bred two females and enjoyed the ecstasy of two litters and if you have never had eight or nine golden retriever pups all at once to cherish, you haven’t fully lived life! Their size finally necessitating my change of breeds to the smaller spaniels.
But I can attest the spaniel has eyes that when fastened on its owner in times of distress are truly the eyes of God and they travel soul deep. So, when he jumps on my lap with his black curly head and cocked ears and fastens those big browns on me with his look of love, well, I always feel better and have faith that in the end all will be well.
Then there has been “Blackie,” just a stray cat someone left behind when they moved away from Urbanna who started watching us from the outer limits of our property one frigid winter. One day after my walk around town on a very cold day I sat down on a patio chair in the backyard and she approached me and jumped in my lap. Amazed, I felt her thin and shivering body and unzipped my coat, tucked her in and zipped the coat back up. Her little head stuck out and we looked at each other. Then she started her engine and it was so loud it seemed like a truck was idling in my drive.
A new sensation passed over me. I never liked cats before but suddenly I loved a cat. It is truly amazing how human beings are capable of such strong affection for animals. It was Charles Darwin that believed only the primates showed love and concern for species other than themselves. Since then, Blackie has been just as responsible as my Lipitor for keeping my blood pressure low.
Walking always helps deal with stress as does looking at the Rappahannock River or the night sky riddled in stars. Crosswords or puzzles helps take one’s mind off upsetting events. But nothing helps like turning off TV, handheld devices, boomboxes, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers and all the other constant noise makers of this world and just listening to classical music.
This winter I found even a better source of relaxing worries. Gregorian chants, biblical passages sung in Latin by 10th century monks! If you haven’t tried them, you are missing a great release from anxiety.
YouTube provides hours of recordings of nonstop chants without interruptions from ads. Your TV screen will contain an accompanying scene that also invites relaxation like my favorite, a shot of the Alps and a cathedral on a nearby peak with a trail that meanders down into the valley under a sky of brilliant sunshine.
Three hours of Gregorian chants is better than a trip to your doctor and all the tranquility pills in the medicine chest.
The adage that music calms the wild beast is true. At least calming music. Much music today that the young listen to, I fear, keeps their brains in a constant state of turmoil. This can’t be good for their overall growth and development.
It’s so good to be back home in Urbanna!
© 2022.
