1. Grateful. There are a lot of people out there taking care of us in countless ways. The health care workers when we're sick. They didn't imagine Covid-19 would define their career choice, or be the cause of their own deaths (300+). The people who thought they just had a job, and found themselves "essential" working as a grocery store cashier, or a semi-truck driver.
2. Sad. I'm sad for all the people who have died of Covid-19 (465,000 worldwide). I'm sad for the all the people who lost someone to Covid-19. I'm sad that our country has not been a leader in fighting Covid-19.
3. Free. Stay-at-home orders caused me to cancel the many commitments I chose to structure my time. The more I'm away from those commitments, the more freedom I feel. I'm starting to refer to it as retiring from my retirement. Don't worry, there's still plenty of structure in my life! But it's literally the most unfettered I've been in my memory. There will be some consideration if/when we go "back to normal."
4. Guilty. Ron and I have been minimally affected by something as huge as a pandemic. It's coincidental. We've been retired long enough and have enough well-developed activities that staying at home is a non-issue. There's a lot of suffering going on right now: loss of family members; food insecurity; economic insecurity; health, both physical and metal; educational; parental. Other than existentially, we're not suffering. Do I wish for some suffering to come our way? Nope, nope, nopity, nope. We're staying home. We've upped our monthly donations to help meet local needs. But should I be doing more? Some fund-raising something, or Instagram something or...or...or..????
5. Proud. I've watched on-line Unity events, high school and college graduations, graduates themselves speaking about their hopes for the future, peaceful protests, scientists keeping us informed. I'm proud of those stepping up to the current challenges on a daily basis.
6. Scared. This is big, folks. Not yet as big as the Spanish Flu pandemic (guesses range from 17-100 million), but it's on that order. Leadership throughout the world has been inconsistent enough to feel like we're out on a limb. I'm not really scared for myself; I'm scared for all of us.
7. Excited. I'm not the only one thinking that it won't be so bad if we don't go back to the way it was. Personally, as a society, as a world. We have the opportunity to grow from this experience. We don't know the end result yet, but we can, we will, we are.
8. Disgusted. I won't wax too political, but I will express my disgust with the lack of leadership during not one but two crises in this country.
9. Happy. Because every day I wake up and I'm still here, and Ron's still here and the dogs and the cat and the neighbors and my family and friends are all still here. It's still summer. Our yard is still beautiful. The forest is still magnificent. I know I will enjoy a day filled with activities that are meaningful to me, that I'll eat well, that I have enough toilet paper to last awhile. In my current day-to-day, life IS still good.
Do your little bit of good where you are;
it's those little bits of good put together
that overwhelm the world.
----Desmond Tutu
Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Desmond Tutu
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/together-quotes
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/together-quotes
Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/together-quotes
Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/together-quotes
