We all come to this mad tea party with different baggage. What frightens me wouldn't cross your mind as a problem. What keeps you up nights surprises and confuses me. We are such complex people, and we are the products of all the experiences we have had and the choices we have made, both good and bad. I will admit that the bad choices usually wind up being exponentially more educational, (and often more fun) but that's who we are.
We are each dealing with this very anxious time in the history of the world in the very best way we know how. Some of us are afraid of our own death or illness. Some fear the death or illness of the people we love. All of us are suffering from being separated from our support system at the very time when we need it most. We can't change the situation, but we can change our chances of surviving it, both physically and mentally. From the physical point of view, it has been proven by scientists that we need sleep, good hygiene, healthy food, and a painful but necessary distance from almost everyone, including those dearest to us. The mental and emotion survival is a little trickier.
I have a large number of friends, both male and female, who live alone. A couple are divorced, a few are widowed, some are celibate clergy, some just never found "the one" and some just prefer it that way. I love them all, and sometimes I feel almost guilty for having a wonderful husband and sons I genuinely like and admire. I've always known I was lucky. Until this enforced isolation I never realized how much. It is so important to have someone to share the fear with, someone to listen to, someone who listens. That's where we all come in.
I use Face Book a lot. In fact when I die I expect to be told the number of hours I wasted with my nose pointed at the screen. That should be punishment enough to make up for some sins. But it does have its uses, and this time is one of them. Reach out to your friends who are on their own. Let them know that they are thought of, that someone cares about their fears, even if they don't share them. Confide your own fears and allow yourself to be comforted. It is a gift to reveal our humanity to each other, to give a friend the privilege of bringing peace, if only for a few moments. Allow those who love you to give you that gift. Allow those you love to give you that gift.
Take a break from the news. You can't change it, and it's depressing at the moment. Spend the time instead talking to a friend. Listen to some beautiful music. The Metropolitan Opera is streaming nightly gems for free to help us get through this. Read an amusing book. Write something yourself, a poem, a story, a journal of how you feel. It's empowering. There are things we can do to survive this time spiritually intact. And we don't have to do them alone. No one should have to.
We are each dealing with this very anxious time in the history of the world in the very best way we know how. Some of us are afraid of our own death or illness. Some fear the death or illness of the people we love. All of us are suffering from being separated from our support system at the very time when we need it most. We can't change the situation, but we can change our chances of surviving it, both physically and mentally. From the physical point of view, it has been proven by scientists that we need sleep, good hygiene, healthy food, and a painful but necessary distance from almost everyone, including those dearest to us. The mental and emotion survival is a little trickier.
I have a large number of friends, both male and female, who live alone. A couple are divorced, a few are widowed, some are celibate clergy, some just never found "the one" and some just prefer it that way. I love them all, and sometimes I feel almost guilty for having a wonderful husband and sons I genuinely like and admire. I've always known I was lucky. Until this enforced isolation I never realized how much. It is so important to have someone to share the fear with, someone to listen to, someone who listens. That's where we all come in.
I use Face Book a lot. In fact when I die I expect to be told the number of hours I wasted with my nose pointed at the screen. That should be punishment enough to make up for some sins. But it does have its uses, and this time is one of them. Reach out to your friends who are on their own. Let them know that they are thought of, that someone cares about their fears, even if they don't share them. Confide your own fears and allow yourself to be comforted. It is a gift to reveal our humanity to each other, to give a friend the privilege of bringing peace, if only for a few moments. Allow those who love you to give you that gift. Allow those you love to give you that gift.
Take a break from the news. You can't change it, and it's depressing at the moment. Spend the time instead talking to a friend. Listen to some beautiful music. The Metropolitan Opera is streaming nightly gems for free to help us get through this. Read an amusing book. Write something yourself, a poem, a story, a journal of how you feel. It's empowering. There are things we can do to survive this time spiritually intact. And we don't have to do them alone. No one should have to.
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