A good and decent man taught me to take care of the basics when life has you in rough waters of one kind or another, take care of the basics. 

His name is Paul and what Paul meant by basics consisted of the following: 

• Remember to shower, to bathe.  
• Remember to brush your teeth. 

• Remember to shampoo your hair.  
• Make sure you have got clean sheets and clean clothes.  
• Remember to eat.  
• Remember to take your medication. 

What makes me call them loving directions? That is a good question and fair point rolled into one.  

I call them loving directions because each directive, if lived out, forces you to take care of you. Any healthy thing you can do to take care of yourself is something we each deserve to know about. 

There is a striking and uplifting and unexpected benefit to this too. Clean clothes, clean sheets, clean body, brushed teeth, shampooed hair, are more healing experiences to be in when the earth, say, feels like it is shifting under your feet.  

We both know that if you or me or anyone were unwashed, mouth pasty and stenchy (if there is such a word), armpits pungent, scalp itchy from unwashed hair, and so on, while in rough waters… It would suck if you will forgive the elegance. 

Remember the basics. Taking care of yourself in a healthy way is not an act of disloyalty to anyone.