because of Covid-19

“Be strong now because things will get better. It might be stormy now, but it can’t rain forever.” Unknown

When life knocks us down, we can stay down, or we can get up and be a force to be reckoned with. We will not be the same after this storm, we will be stronger.

Life will always be tough. Everyone of us will face misfortune and calamitous events in our lives at one time or another.  When adversity happens, we can choose to hide our heads in the sand. We can pretend that what is happening around us will not happen to us personally or we can be proactive and do what is required to help prevent a worsening situation. We can choose to be negative or we can choose to be positive and ready to do what we can to help fight this disaster. Adversity is a part of life. We can choose to face the adversity and uncertainty with being strong and with a fighting spirit. We cannot control what is happening around us, but we can control our own thoughts, actions, and attitudes about it.

 Quarantine, self-isolation, physical distancing have all became common words used by everyone in the midst of this disaster.

Most of what I have witnessed during this pandemic has made me proud to be a human. Most of humanity chose to be part of the solution. Most of the world’s population chose to be morally responsible and do the right thing. Most of us chose to help our neighbors.  It made me realize that we do care about our fellow humans.

A true community is not just about being geographically close to our neighbors. It is about being connected and being responsible for the larger global community.

I pride myself in the fact that I am a positive person. There was a day though, during this crisis that I fell prey to negative feelings and feelings of deep distress. I felt dismay that I had not seen my family for months. I felt anger over not being able to do the things that were important to me. I was finding it extremely difficult to snap myself out of these feelings. I felt immense alarm for the future. I was desperate for human connection. You see, our thoughts are immensely powerful. I reminded myself that I had to stop stressing over what I could not control. I could only control my feelings, my thoughts, and my actions. I reminded myself that I am alive, I am healthy, and I have a roof over my head. I have people to love and people that love me back. I have the rest of my life to look forward to. I have hope and I have faith. Keeping positive during this adversity is paramount to our peace of mind.

One of the things that I missed the most when I decided to self isolate was hugging. Nothing was more apparent to me during this time of being alone than the pure physical need of human touch. Human connection is vital for our existence and I know many people have had to bear this crisis alone without the comfort of a simple hug. Human connection is vital for our emotional health as well as our physical health. Studies have shown that hugs, holding hands and massage can reduce stress and can also boost the immune system. I grew up in a family of huggers. Sometimes words cannot express what a simple hug can do. A hug is energy that is passed from one to another through the simple act of touch. It is essential for our well being. Touch is the first sense that we develop in the womb. Everyone needs physical touch. We as humans were never meant to hold one another at arms length. We all need physical touch and now with the corona virus we cannot hug for fear of getting infected. The day the world is healed I am going on a hugging spree!

When the corona virus pandemic is over, will we all be able to work together after as we have been during this crisis? Do you think that we have all learned a valuable lesson?  Can we not find peace and contentment with one another?  We have much to lose by not working together. We as humans have been creating separateness by judging others when perhaps we simply are afraid to embrace others and live with love and compassion for our fellow humans. Nobody wins when we create fear and judge others. Ours is not to judge but to find ways to live together in the global community.

The optimist in me believes that the world will be healed, and humans will have learned a valuable lesson from this crisis. There are signs all over that we are healing. Cases of the virus are growing fewer and fewer all over the world. People are going back to work, with many extra precautions, but they are going back to work.  I see better things for this world after this crisis is over. I am looking for the good that will come out of this disaster.

I am an optimist, but I am enough of a realist though to know and understand that not everything will be solved soon. It will take a long time to ‘get back to normal.’

 We cannot go back and change what has happened. We can only go forward and learn from the past. We must all learn from the mistakes we made. We are all connected in this global community because of the pandemic. Awareness has opened our eyes to the rest of the world. Is it possible that the universe has sent us a stern warning that it was time for a change? Do you think the universe wanted to make us all so uncomfortable that we do not have a choice now? No one person has it all figured out but maybe collectively if we all work together, we can make the changes that are needed.

The truth is that we as a global community need to learn acceptance. We need to work together with everyone, no matter what race, color, or religion. We all need to have compassion for our fellow human.

We will find a way through this crisis and I believe that the world will be a better place.

Remember in the blink of an eye, everything as we know it can be taken away. Be grateful for each day. Open your eyes and your heart and realize that life is good, you woke up this morning.

Linda Breedlove.
lindabreedlove50@gmail.com

Linda is the author of the compelling motivational book
‘Embrace the Change, Be a Rebel on Purpose.’

 Click the cover above for more information.

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