We are ONE
During my chemo recovery periods, I generally have lots of time for reflection. This last session was no different.
I have come to the conclusion that the recovery that I need to be whole again is very similar to the healing that is needed around the globe. COVID-19 has made some things very clear for me. And if you’re honest with yourself, you probably can relate all too well.
““When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place”
Can you hear me now? - Now that there is no where to run .. nothing else to shield us from His requests to come before Him, can we (will we) make time? Sometimes life gets too busy. We are so involved with the hustle that we don’t make time for what is important. Just the other day, I had this conversation with one of my mentors. God’s voice is very clear. If you are still, you can hear Him but don’t forget to listen too..
Social classes don’t matter .. especially, when we all need toilet paper - There is a lot of fuss about the haves and the have nots. We seem to live in a society where folks are discounted because of what they have been able (or have desire) to acquire. At the end of the day, none of it matters, because there were no Bentleys being driven during the lockdown.. No Gucci purses being flossed, and no magnificent parties of thousands being hosted in exquisite residences. And as far as “what you do for a living”, the folks that came in at a pinch were the health care workers, the folks that were willing to stand across from you in the grocery store and that guy that was willing to deliver your food .. So be humble, you’re no better or less than the next person that needs toilet paper.
Stop complaining, and appreciate it all - I bet everyone would be willing to go back to how things were a few weeks ago. Yet, if we look back then, we were complaining about what we had.. Complaining about having to go to work on Monday. Complaining about the traffic. Complaining about gas prices. Complaining about the coworkers.. Now, we’d give anything to be able to get out of the house and drive where and whenever we please. After this is all over, it would be great if we all were programmed with a chip that zaps up when we start to pick up those behaviors again. But that is not realistic, so instead, let’s try to program yourself to appreciate the flowers that you see outside while you are waiting in a line that is longer than your liking.
Yeah they get on my nerves sometimes, but they are MY family - when all was said and done, all we had left were those that were in our homes with us. And with everything else shut off, there is plenty of time to shut out the world and really spend that quality time that is often missed. Family is everything! No, you can’t choose them, but they are all you have!
It’s really not all about you - It amazes me the number of people that just can’t (or won’t) heed the advice of the CDC. STAY HOME.. if you can, that is. I understand that this does not pertain to essential personnel. But some of y’all ain’t essential. And maybe you aren’t infected… but maybe someone else is because you couldn’t sit down for a few minutes. And where are you going anyway? No one else can go anywhere either.. so that means you are guess what, by yourself. May as well be by yourself in the comfort of your own home. #stayhome
Do something for somebody else - Yes, I know you are going through it.. I know that your weekly flower delivery is postponed, and you can’t go to your Pilates class, and you had to cancel brunch .. but get a grip OK. Instead of complaining of how this has affected you, why don’t you think of a way to help someone else during this time. I have read about folks pulling out their sewing machines to make masks. I’ve experienced the largest in-home house party when DJ D-Nice pulled 150k people together to get them through the weekend (over social media). He didn't have to do that. But it was a way to use what he has to help others? What skill can you pull out of your toolbox?
Are you gonna do something or sit there and complain? - ok, I admit that it was a shock when it first happened. We weren’t prepared, but here we are.. We know what the immediate future looks like for us. So what do you do now that you are in this space? You can pivot and react, or you can wallow and succumb. Just imagine how much powerful we all would be if we used this as a time to better ourselves.. whether that’s some weight that you want to lose, a class that you want to take online, a language that you have been meaning to learn, a business plan that you want to write. Now is the time! They say that Shakespeare wrote King Lear during a quarantine.. (not sure how true that is, but fits nicely with my commentary)
This too shall pass - Maybe this is the first time that we’ve experienced COVID-19. But this is not the first time that you, nor we, have had to overcome a challenge. At some point, this will all be behind us, and if we are fortunate enough, we would have taken advantage of the time to better ourselves during this period.
Much love y’all ♥️
* Please don’t take my exclusion of the potential financial impacts of COVID-19 to be one of naivety. I just choose not to dwell on that which I can not control. I understand that there will be countless business owners and employees that have a different reality once we are on the other side of this. I pray for us all.
