These are trying times. It’s easy to wake up some days feeling ‘heavy’. “Groundhog days”, as they say. A friend told me today that she thrives ‘in structure and routine’. Many of us do. And now, with that taken away, it is both a blessing and a curse. Those of us who need a regimen in place may be struggling. There is fear of the unknown. People feel angry and perhaps weighed down with world events of late. The wheels of change are slow. The wheels of this pandemic are equally slow. The natural side effect of all this is figuring out how to manage thoughts, actions, and emotions. While we create new routines and also push for change, learning how to live in this ‘new normal’, we must look for bright lights anywhere and everywhere they are to be found.
Yesterday I visited my sister and brother-in-law. It was a regular Thursday, filled with work responsibilities, grocery shopping to be done, and my own family to care for. Putting the time aside to go meant restructuring those duties. It was the need for social interaction and reaching out to family that propelled the visit. It has been a difficult time. We have roles, work, life’s daily lists to complete. And we sometimes have to cope with feelings surrounding emotional crises that arise. At the same time, we have to carry on, and live. And reaching out is imperative to that management.
In doing so, by going to my sister’s yesterday, my beautiful nephew was just what the doctor ordered. He is generally shy around me, particularly since we don’t see each other during this self-isolation period. Yesterday however, through the grace of God and good old-fashioned glee, he came to me. He showed me his toys, we took photos with his sister’s pink Polaroid camera, then ran around the house, and played in the back yard. In an unprecedented twist, he kept coming back for more! He was that bright light for me. Find yours today, however you can -- a good cup of coffee, a phone call to a friend, a delicious pastry, a walk with a loved one. Find it, and cherish it. ❤️
@Mia Virk...Thank you so much for reading! Your comment warmed MY heart!
Children DO have that power. Pure joy.
I love what your friend made you promise, what a wonderful thing!
I equally love how you put it, that we take this time to fall in love with life -- warts and all. x
First and foremost I would like to say that this warmed my heart entirely.
Children have this power, this neverending resilience that older folks lose. Perhaps through the struggles of being an adult, and the stresses that come with growing up, either way we lose it.
Now more than ever we need to find it again, the effortless love of life. A friend once said to me, "I want you to promise me that you won't stop until you are in love with your life. ok?" This spoke volumes for me.
In these frightful times it is important, scratch that, it is necessary, that we reclaim the power and fall in love with life.
Wonderful post, just what the doctor…