The Time to be Kind

Hi Friends!!

First of all, I do not want this to be another “I’m bored from Coronavirus — let me read another blog post” post… I actually wanted to give you some positive perspective during this unprecedented time we are all in together.

I hope you are taking the necessary precautions to take care of yourself and your loved ones — in other words, staying at home and avoiding human contact when possible.

I am going to just point out the obvious first by saying:

No, it is not normal to live like a hermit. No, I do not like our situation. No, I do not like that some people are not social distancing at this time. No, I do not like that certain government systems are not taking the highest precautions possible.

As you can see, there are a lot of No’s in this time. No. No. No. I don’t like to be negative, so let me throw in some Yes, now.

Yes, this is no normal circumstance we are in. Yes, it is worldwide & deadly (as the numbers show). Yes, I wish I could take all of this pain, suffering, and bad health away. Yes, it will all end one day soon. Keep your head up :)

All of this to say this: Some of us have been home since news broke out about the first case in our hometowns, myself included. Yes, it is scary and unknown— but I try not think about it because this is not the first pandemic the world has endured, and it certainly will not be the last. Sorry —my public health brain took over for a moment — back to the real reason I write.

I write to say: Amongst all that you have read and seen on the news and amongst all that has been said to you, I hope you look at the world through this view below.

My belief is that this pandemic is serving as a wake-up call for individuals worldwide. I do not want “wake-up call” to be taken in a negative connotation, but more as a learning lesson here. We are all being forced to slow down, which our introverts are thriving and our extroverts are suffering.

I want you to take a moment to think about another time in our lives, where we have thought about the health of our elderly, or the rando neighbor next door, or our mailman that delivers our Amazon packages .. okay, do you have it? If so, share it with me in the comments below.

This has been the most selfless people have been, in my opinion. I think our world is learning how much we take for granted and how simple acts of kindness and thoughtfulness go far right now.

Personally, pursuing a degree in public health was my selfless way of saying “Hey world, I care about you and your inhabitants, let me help take care of you” and now more than ever, I am seeing more and more people thank me. Why thank me? Because I have a degree in it? Because I am indebted to the government for a public service degree? My degree means nothing — the people at the forefront do: the teachers, the doctors, the grocery store workers, the mailman, the service industry workers, and any and every individual that is still working during this pandemic. As a public health practitioner and a citizen of the world, I salute you. The world is indebted to you.

Yes, I have training and knowledge. Yes, some people listen. Yes, I know we will live to see the end of this. But what I am most thankful for is the time we have had to slow down.

Over the course of the month, we have all been advised to work from our homes, self-isolate from our loved ones, and avoid social gatherings. With setting these boundaries, we have all also slowed down and been able to spend time with our parents, our children, walk in the neighborhood, call a friend to chat and check on them, play cards and boardgames, plant flowers and tend to a garden, cook with and for each other, color, read books, play computer games, watch movies and laugh — the list goes on and on. It makes life feel so much simpler.

We all lived our busy lives, hustling and bustling that we forgot to slow down. Think about how many times we will do an adult coloring book, play cards with our family, read a book, or walk in our neighborhoods after this is all over — probably a handful of times. Extroverts are going crazy right now in their homes (I sympathize with you, and this side of me is also going bananas), but I am also choosing to enjoy slowing down at this time. Our world is telling us we need it. Think about the positive effects that have come out of this pandemic — our waters clearing up, pollution declines, getting fresh air in our lungs instead of the artificial air the machines at the gym spray out at you.

I choose the positives. I choose to see that this pandemic has given us all time — time and opportunity to make a change and prioritize and be thankful for all the wonderful blessings we have. I choose to wake up everyday and be happy that I get to spend another day with my loved ones. I choose to take this time to slow down and know that even though it’s not normal, it’s not permanent.

I know this is a lot right now. Believe me, I have questioned my own sanity during this time, but I also have been able to do what a lot of people cannot do right now and I choose to be thankful.

We will recover. We will be able to live normal lives again — but for now I hope you take the time to enjoy the simple things in life and turn to love and kindness. I do believe that our world is similar to our bodies, we have to treat it with love and kindness, for it to be love and kind back to us. I am praying for you all and love you very much.

Stay Well!

With Love, Yas