HOLY SHIT! Yup, I am cursing in print; Natural Awakenings gods be damned. I reserve that right under the zombie apocalypse OR pandemic—neither of which I expected to see during my lifetime. I will share my own quick experience and will ask that maybe we sit with it for a moment (I mean, we have the time, right???).
I am disheartened that this virus so easily came here and infected so many of our fellow countrymen (and women) and am sad too how it has impacted other countries. I am fearful and sad for the long-term impact this will have on our country. Yet, fear and sadness cannot be part of my mindset right now during this period of isolation, for it will only feed on itself and grow bigger. So, I’ve chosen to acknowledge my feelings and have moved forward with the idea of focusing not on tomorrow but just today, because who knows what tomorrow will bring—right?
Some of my advertisers are sharing with me that this pandemic is what they needed to force them to expand or change their business. That goes for me too. I have had a long-term social media project that I have worked on diligently because of all the non-client-based time I’ve had and will be launching it sooner than anticipated. Yay! Follow us on Instagram (@NaturalAwakeningsLongIsland) and Facebook (@NaturalAwakeningsLongIsland)! So, that’s a positive. Oh, and my kids are “playing” together (LOL, they are 16 and 19!). The other day, they played cards, and my son who knows nothing about lacrosse volunteered to be a goalie for my daughter (with a tennis racket, which had us cracking up). Those are my positives. What are yours? Has anything at all positive come from this awfulness? If so, share it with us on social media!!
Social media hasn’t been all good. The truth is social media has also had a negative effect on me as I watch my friends and neighbors literally head into McCarthy-era behavior—screaming, “Stay off the boardwalk!” and others screaming back, “I’m doing my best, but if I don’t go outside, I will literally have a nervous breakdown!” I miss the old days where if we were going to judge someone, it had to be face to face. If it were still that way, I bet a lot of folks would be much quieter with their judgmental accusations.
I will leave you with this: Judge NOT lest ye be JUDGED. Judging doesn’t help. I mean how can people screaming on Facebook all this doom and gloom and judgment help? How does it help anyone to be shouting from the rafters, “I know someone who has been laid off; we are all going to be hurt”? For one, everyone knows this already. Let’s replace negative and judgmental behavior by searching for the silver lining. Let’s focus on the uplifting things on social media, like school principals hosting mobile dance parties and folks doing drive-by birthday parties for children they don’t know.
So, I will ask when you find yourself reading this that maybe you stop and think of just one thing that perhaps you have gained during this horrible time. If you can honestly say “nothing,” then I will tell you, you have gained my prayers. In the meantime, clean your closets, FaceTime your friends, take your supplements, eat the rainbow, and get plenty of sunshine and fresh air. And recognize that the very fact that you are missing being able to connect closer than 6 feet to folks can be viewed as a blessing because it means that you actually have people in your life that you want to connect with.
With NON JUDGEMENTAL LOVE! Malama Pono,
Kelly
