The Difficult Times We Are Living In

Photograph by Xavier Photographic Art

It has been a weird two weeks or so for me, so I have not been as diligent about my posting – something I plan to correct immediately.  Like many people, life has been not been normal or easy.  I decided to follow my own advice and gave myself time to be anxious, introspective, and even sad.

The anxiousness was driven by results of a (non-Covid related) medical test where initial results were suspicious enough to warrant re-testing and then additional testing.  It all turned out well and I am so grateful but face it, no matter who you are or how you cope sometimes you just need take a minute to acknowledge your feelings and then let it go.

The introspection comes from a place of realizing that like many, I need to rethink the life I was living because it needs to change in light of virus driven changes.  Despite the contradicting and confusing information that we are receiving it is still up to each of us to take responsibility for protecting our health and the health of others.  I happily wear a mask and I learned that I can appreciate my family, friends and community and also social distance at the same time.   A smile and kind words go a long way in filling in for the hugs that we so miss.

The sadness comes from realizing that even though we have seen so many amazing acts of self-sacrifice, kindness, sharing and lifting up of others – we have not learned from those examples.  We still have not learned that we are all human and worthy of respect, dignity, and kindness.  We still have not learned the basic rule of treating each other as we would like to be treated.  The violence and ugliness continue to raise its head seemingly without end.  This has to stop.  I choose to continue my journey with kindness – uplifting, inspiring and being a friend to others.  We can be examples of what we want in the world.