I wrote this back in 2020, when life was different. I think it still applies today and so thought I would repost it......
COVID
Politics
Working from Home
Remote Learning
Solitude
Job Security
Getting Supplies
At least one of these things has been the source of our individual stress every day for the past 8 months, as well as have become the focus of relatable memes that make us laugh. They are also contributing factors to a belief that 2020 is complete washout, no good has come of it and it cannot end fast enough. Sure is a sad way to think of almost an entire year of your life, isn’t it?
So, what’s there to stop you from looking at it differently? What if you thought about all of this from a place of gratitude? COVID has changed our lives for sure, but has it truly been all for the worse?
I truly don’t believe so and here’s why…
We went from running a rat race to focusing on that which really matters… our family, our friends and ourselves.
We went from driving while texting (shhhhh…) to laughing at our pets as they show up on a Virtual Meeting.
We went from squeezing in time for dinner by grabbing it at a restaurant 4 nights a week, to home cooked family dinners and conversations around the table.
We went from going out just to walk around a mall to kill time to holding hands walking around our neighborhoods and watching birds fly and flowers blossom.
We went from kids hiding in their rooms playing video games to kids laughing out in the front yard.
We went from trying to figure out how to see everyone on the holidays to a time of rest and relaxation in our own homes.
We saw that if we just take a break, our world has the ability to show us its true self and how beautiful it really is.
We realized that the people we may have taken for granted – like those who work in grocery stores - are really important people in our lives and deserve as much respect as anyone else.
We discovered flaws in our systems that we thought we had, but now know we will need to repair them for the success of future generations.
We went from not knowing who people are, to seeing who really is behind that face we see almost every day.
And we now know how much a smile means to us.
I don’t know about you but I believe that this is a lot to be grateful for!
You may be saying to yourself that I don’t know what you have been through, so it’s easy for me to be so grateful and positive. And, to an extent, you are right. Please know that I am not saying at all that this has not been a challenging endeavor, that I don’t long for the day when I can go out to dinner on a whim, attend a family wedding or hug a friend. But what I am saying is that it’s not all bad. We have had the opportunity of a lifetime to reset who we are as people, to be more present in the moment and to decide what of this we really want to keep once we return to whatever life as we knew it will be.
You do not have a choice but to be in the middle of all this. However, you do have a choice as to how you deal with it. You can chose to dwell on the loss that you are experiencing, OR you can experience gratitude for what has been presented to you, the small joys each day brings and the positive possibilities that exist in your future.
I choose gratitude.
So, take a moment to think about it. Are you choosing gratitude? What are you grateful for at this moment? I’d love to know. Reach out if you would like to share.
Thanks for visiting!
Until next time…..
Do More of What Makes You Happy!
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