Have you ever thought about how you connect in this world? Connected in what you’re doing and how you’re ‘being.’
I don’t know about you, but this pandemic has heightened my awareness where I’m observing life from a different perspective. Observing how we are now leading our lives, and hyper aware of our ability to rationalize, anything. Rationalizing one thing and not ok with something else. Locked down in our minds but open to our needs.
This pandemic has shown a revealing side of ourselves. Many have succumbed to uncontrollable fear. This fear sadly has translated to irrational behaviour. It’s one thing to understand what we’re facing and to practice safe methods, but it’s another to think that we’re justified in our poor behaviour and using this as an excuse to lash out at others. I’ve seen some nasty fearful behaviour over this pandemic, and it’s troubling.
Certainly, there are wonderful and kind acts of goodness and supportive actions, and yet what’s the fun in writing only about the good stuff. Sometimes you just need to look harsh reality in the face.
That reality has presented itself in many ways. The fear is in the questions being asked. Example; “What are you doing?”The only safe response right now is to say; “I’m breathing.” To then hear; “Oh, good. Phew.” God forbid we say that we’re outside in the fresh air. Ok, the example is a little extreme. But …
Social media has even been scrutinized. Don’t even think about posting adventuresome looking events unless, of course it’s prefaced by #TBT or #beforeCOVID19.
And I know the outbursts and unsettling feelings are more around those that are not doing their part, hence people are frustrated, angry and afraid. However, and I’ve written about this before, you give someone additional ‘authority’ to do something and they, if they don’t know any better, tend to abuse their role. This has always hit home for me, as I saw firsthand when traveling in South East Asia and the Soviet Union and Soviet Republic, the unnecessary abuse of power.
This is when I’m so grateful for opposing views. You need to have them. It’s the only way one can fight for what they believe in. Even if we don’t agree.
I remember just before the start of this pandemic, I had just gotten back from being in Los Angeles for a while, a couple of month later the Prime Minister of Canada was shutting down the Country. Countless rules, and new ways we now needed to conduct ourselves were upon us. No choice. We had to abide. It happened so fast. Stores that shut down actually were boarded up. Essential stores that could stay open now had a number of signs with ‘orders’ on them. What happened to the Disney way of saying something? Please. Thank you. Avoiding the actual word, no.
This is when it felt more like the fox guarding the hen house. Essential stores that stayed open who once treated their customers like, well customers, no longer felt the need to be friendly and kind. I get it, staff were stressed, and yet you don’t bark at your customers. In fact, stop barking at your customers.
Under all of this duress, upheaval and the disgusted looks if you were not abiding by these news rules, and of course all for the sake of keeping us safe and healthy, after all it is a pandemic, I ask you …
How were you leading your life before all of this?
Because this pandemic has shifted our mindset to; “I am fighting for my life.”
How exactly?
If I may elaborate.
Just one example; My friend and his family moved back to their hometown in Canada (their summer place) and decided they needed to extend their stay during this pandemic. Now, on a daily basis, when driving their car, they receive violent threats and the shouting of ‘go home’ because they have California plates on their SUV. As a Canadian I’m embarrassed and appalled. As one human being to another living on this planet, I’m disgusted.
Our fear for fear sake even if were doing everything in our power to stay healthy and safe is not helping us or anyone else for that matter.
So, I ask you again, what then are you fighting for? How do you actually want to be leading your life? What are you living for? Because being miserable to other human beings is a reflection of how you are in this world. And how you are connected with others.
Rethinking, reflecting, repositioning and asking yourself why am I so afraid of dying when I’m not really living? Would I rather die living then to have not lived at all?
If you’re already leading a life of fear, then you’re not living your life, even when life gets challenging.
I’m always reminded of my travels around the world. Crazy adventures in unsafe Countries. More naïve than not when I started out, and yet grateful that I wasn’t shot or worse. Eventually I learned to be street smart. My only possessions were in the pack on my back.
As I’m much older now and have accumulated more ‘stuff’ I would rather not have to go back to living out of my backpack, and yet I know that I could. And therefore, I’m not afraid of living my life even during a pandemic.
Control what you can, and let the rest go. It’s not serving you, and it’s definitely not enhancing the quality of your life.