Time To Feel, Time To Heal.
Last night I had a good cry. This week I’ve lost 3 friends in 4 days to Covid-19. These were people I knew, worked with, was social with and deeply cared about. This invisible enemy keeps striking, and it’s too much to bear. Every day the news comes at us like a loaded gun, rat, tat tatting away, taking shot after shot until we simply can’t take any more.
People are sick and some, dying. Worse, they’re dying alone. No one at their bedside, holding their hand. There are no funerals, no wakes or sitting shiva. We can’t say goodbye to those we love. For some the pain might be too much to bear. No closure and long term trauma will surely have an impact.
Despite the plethora of motivational messages making the rounds on social media meant to give us a tough love kick into gear, this isn’t the time to start a new business, learn a new skill or gain more knowledge. No, it’s not. This is a time to take a beat. To slow down. To do what our body and mind needs – to take a break from the tedious monotony of life. Even if it means to play online games to win real money, do it! Do what makes you happy, feel your feelings – take into account the good, bad and the ugly. Sure, we all likely have more time on our hands, and the idea of using this time to be more productive sure is appealing, but in keeping busy, we are missing another opportunity.
Here’s what I mean.
These are painful days. The likelihood is we will know someone who had Covid-19 and survived or worse, did not. I don’t think any of us get out of this pandemic unscathed. If we don’t honor the emotions we feel now, we will surely have to unpack them later. There will be trauma, grief, loss, panic over finances and panic of the tsunami of change happening all around us. And there doesn’t appear to be anything we can really do to alter this outcome except to stay home. Those of us who are finance-savvy could potentially try trading on the stock market to see if we can generate some additional income today through buying cannabis shares (gras aktien kaufen), for example. Of course, trading does come with a certain level of risk so it’s best to take an honest look at your mental health first and determine whether you will be able to cope with any potential losses before you open up an account and start purchasing any kind of stocks and shares.
The fact is, there is a deadly pandemic happening. It’s global, affecting people in more than 180 countries. There’s also vast economic uncertainty. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been hit hard by both of these truths. Some, harder than others, but we have all been impacted. It’s crucial to remember that what we are experiencing isn’t just happening to you or me. It’s collective and it’s happening to all of us. We are doing out best to survive, but we are anxious, scared and full of doubt about what the future may hold.
I fear the long-term mental health ramifications of Covid-19 will be far worse than the virus itself. Many people I know are battling anxiety, depression, and insomnia, all perfectly natural reactions that come as a result of having your world turned upside down. Of course, there are ways to help manage these, by way of therapy, medication or even alternative treatments such as medical marijuana have shown great promise in helping to reduce stress levels. Healthcare professionals will better be able to advise the correct THC vape dosage for those interested in this, but it’s important to remember there is help out there and that these are all normal reactions to have in the midst of a global pandemic. So no, we don’t need to be bombarded by motivational messages or guilt that we somehow aren’t cut out for this. Who is? What we need now more than ever is to be more compassionate, more gentle, with ourselves and others and accept the difficult emotions that will, no doubt, come up for us. Give yourself time-time to feel and time to heal. Time to reflect and time to plan. Yes, read a book or take an online class (make sure you have a good internet connection similar to service providers like wow internet) if that helps pass the time. But please don’t shame anyone if this isn’t their path. You see, this isn’t about discipline or time. It’s about the unexpected trauma-the preverbal train we didn’t see coming. I am not suggesting we all crawl into a ball while we wait for this unpredictable and unexpected storm to pass.
However, it’s important to know, this too shall pass.
We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times.
We will come out of this.
I suspect very changed.
I pray for the better.
So if you’re finding it difficult to focus, to pull yourself away from the news, it’s ok. You are not alone. And it’s completely understandable. Our new normal is anything but. The unknown is always challenging, but especially in these ambiguous times. We have never experienced anything like this. We have never seen days like these and as I’ve said before, may we never see them again.
-Love,
Dottie
23 Comments
Together as Ever as One
Love you cousin xox
Love you right back Ernest!
Very well said Dottie. Here is wishing you peace and healing and may your friends rest in peace.
Best,
R
Love u Dottie please stay safe I wish I could help I’m stuck in my apt and my daughter in hers also about 5 miles away from me alone also I pray that the world will heal soon
Please call me one day would love to speak with you Ceci
Beautifully said!
I’m so sorry for the loss of your friends
My prayers are with you and their families ..
This is a crisis and a very difficult one to bear at times .. I feel like I should be doing stuff like learning new things ,doing more artwork , reading. But some days I just want to sleep and not think about all of this .Other days I can’t stop watching tv shows and movies to try to distract myself from this horror.
I worry for my family and friends that I can only call or text ..I worry for the world and the future, I’m grateful I have a place to live and have food for some time and my dogs keep me company.
I’m grateful that everyone I know is fine .
I’m grateful for all the recovery stories and all of the heroic efforts that the medical community and the transportation workers , sanitation workers , suppliers , truckers , delivery people , store workers , restaurants workers are all doing for the rest of us .. they are true heroes .. thank you for your honesty and validating our feelings .. after all we are all human ..
Thanks
That’s how I feel
Very well said
Thank your for opening your heart by sharing your deep feelings. We are all equal and all one in this pandemic, no one escapes the fact that the world has changed, for good and for better, because at the end of the day, we have had to switch to the basics, and find value on things that before were not considered important because we were too busy doing important things. Finding value on taking a walk, reading a book, planting a garden, baking a cake, laughing and crying together… it is all about keeping up the good spirit and reinventing ourselves.
Thank you Dottie. Your words and thoughts have a great impact one everyone. I too have lost two friends and others that are ill. Now is the time for prayer and reflection. Family, memories, what’s really important to you. The best to you and everyone. We will do this all together.
May peace, love and health be with you and everyone.
❤️Angela Lopresto
Very Sad & Well Said…
This to shall pass…
Thank you Dottie
Dottie Thank you for opening up your heart. When my son Jason died at 15 and my husband left 7 weeks later because I reminded him too much of Jadon we were in the optical business together had a home in NYC LI and Sag Harbor. . I got through started again
We will get through this . There is always light at the end of the tunnel. We must be strong.
Thank you, Dottie!
With everything I’ve seen, this is the most sensitive, kind, and moving overview of what is happening now. I have been trying so hard to learn and move my work forward, and yet, suffering so much with friends and family in the eye of the storm in health and finance. Money is not life. It is all painful.
Stay safe and thank you!
Tina Newman, DE, 575 Madison, 6th Fl
Hi Dotty:
Thank you so much for posting that…the world is spinning out of control. Everyone is concerned about “showings, engineers, who’s getting a jump on my listing”,,,,, but no one is talking about their feelings and fears and the sadness of it all. What’s wrong with talking about that, do we have to show our colleagues ” look at me I’m so busy preparing for my next move, I’m such a dedicated agent”?
There is so much I could say about your message but right now I am too overwhelmed with emotions. Since this all began yours was the first posting that spoke of the humanity of it all.
Thank you….
Wow! So powerful. What a heartfelt and meaningful message. Thank you Dottie… sincerely thankful to have read your words.
Your message is loud and clear Dottie-
And very much appreciated
Stay safe
Laura McLaughlin
PW office
I’m sorry for your losses. I love your article and it is very inspiring and it’s also true… XOXO
Dottie – this is beautiful. Thank you for writing. Barbara
Thank You for this!!!
Great expression of an authentic heart. She fears not her emotions nor your reactions. She is an inspiration- I worked for her firm long before she came on. Wish I had known her. This is a woman after my own heart.
God bless you Dottie ❤️❤️
Well done Dottie ❤️
Thank you for writing this Dottie, it’s been almost a full year since you wrote this and it’s exactly what I needed to read today.
I’m so glad to hear that Dorothy. You are welcome and thank you for reading my article.