The World Needs You to Be a Hero
Everyone loves a hero
When I was a kid, every week I could not wait for Saturday morning cartoons. I would get up, race downstairs with my sister, and spend the next 2-3 hours watching the week's new shows.
My favorite cartoon was Super Friends, which brought together all the superheroes from the Justice League - Superman, Batman & Robin, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman - who would use their superpowers to battle the forces of evil.
While watching Saturday morning cartoons is no longer a childhood ritual, I believe most children still dream of using their special gifts to save others, fight for justice, and bring goodness into the world.
What is a hero?
Boost your immune function by calling an old friend
Reconnecting with old friends during COVID-19
As I write this, one of my college housemates, a cardiologist in Miami, has been sick with COVID-19 and on a ventilator for almost a month. He is showing signs of improvement but it's been really slow, nail-biting progress.
While this is of course a terrible a circumstance, one of the blessings that has come out of it has been the opportunity to reconnect with my 6 other housemates, several of whom I've not seen for more than 10 years. We had a great Zoom call this last weekend, with prayers and worry broken up by laughter and fun memories.
While maintaining relationships has never been something I've been good at, right now I'm encouraged to be on the lookout for other opportunities to re-establish old friendships or family bonds.
Immune function and social connections
Perhaps because of this, an older study caught my eye this week. Published in 1997, researchers actively placed cold virus in the noses of 276 healthy...