Over the past year, I honestly can’t think of a single person I know who had a nice, calm year. In fact, many people claim this has been the most difficult time of their lives. COVID-19 has put a huge shadow in our timelines, making it harder and harder to step into the light. With this shroud of difficulty, stress, and possibly heartache from loss, it’s no wonder that people are more fearful and upset than ever before.
So, how do we fix it? How do we come out of the shadow of the COVID world and into the world we all know and love? I think the first step is to remember the wise words that have been passed down for centuries that says, “the only thing constant is change.” No matter how hard we try, we do grow up, change, have experiences that turn our perspectives or break our hearts that lead us to either a dark hole of depression or a journey to find ourselves time and time again leading forward in life. The beautiful part is you are in control! It’s easy to blame the world around you, but ultimately, it’s up to you to live your life and chose how to handle the world around you. COVID is part of our past, and it is still part of our present, and most likely will be part of our future, but the good news is there is more to life than living in the fear of COVID.
Despite the loved ones lost from the virus, the financial stress it brought with it we are still dealing with today, and the political madness the world has succumbed to, one amazing thing that came from this pandemic was being able to spend quality time with those I live with. So many loving memories were made, and I loved being back in touch with the things that made me smile the most. Since I have been back in the workforce the last year, I miss that part of myself where I had time in my day to spend with those most important to me, smiling, laughing, and making memories. Work has been harder and more stressful due to the pandemic and has forced unpaid overtime daily, and even on my days off to the point where I felt lost again.
Life is a slippery slope I have learned where every time I feel good or OK, I just slip back due to things beyond my control, such as COVID, financial stress from political reasons, and even a loss of friends or family who has not survived. You would think that the more we slip the easier it is to get up, but I am not sure that is entirely true. Now, I wonder if the real test is not giving up. Yes, we know hard times are ahead as we try to heal our world from this illness. Yes, we know that emotions are high from so many people struggling with depression, anxiety, stress disorders, and even emotional disorders causing people to feel extra defensive or angry without realizing it. In this world of crazy, I feel the world has become so loud. So many sirens, people yelling, fighting, stressing, insulting, arguing, and so forth over what exactly? There are a thousand things we all wish we can change, but why take it out on each other, distracted by the arguing and losing sight of how to truly heal the issues or breach? Yes, I know we all have different ideas on how to heal our land of the free. But, don’t you think it’s important to remember, and amazing to realize that we are all wanting the same thing? We all want peace, freedom, income to live steady on, time with our loved ones, and no one wants to be taken for granted or disrespected or judged because of your job or race. We all have love in our hearts, as cheesy as that sounds, if you really stop and think about it, you might be surprised. We might not love each other, which is a shame, but there are people I hope you love somewhere in your past, present, or future. We all want the best, so maybe the real way to heal our world is to take a pause on noise. Hit mute. Take a deep breath and remember, we all have loved ones, and live in this COVID world in common, so let’s get through it together.
I think it’s amazing we all care enough about our world to argue about it. Have you ever thought about it that way? When children argue, we tell them nothing is solved by arguing and to show respect for others. Yet, every day, they see the adults in the news or around them argue, riot, and fight, so what else are they going to learn? That is why I encourage everyone to take a deep breath and think of 5 wonderful things in their life right now. Think about those and try to share one with someone. You may be surprised to learn it might brighten their day, or help them through what they are experiencing.
With so much negative in the world, let’s all work together to put more positive in it. A friendly smile, a kind word, an extra ‘thank you’ or ‘you’re welcome’ might help. What harm can it do? How are you going to make a positive effect on someone today? Think on that, and maybe, together, we can start a wave of change in the world for the better.
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