I have been silent these past few weeks. At first, I think it was denial. The feeling of waking up every day, seeking to find my old norm outside my bedroom door.
I realize, now, I’m torn with the what our world is going through and how I can or should react. We share statistics and pretty graphs on tv. Heck- I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little excited seeing those charts, bringing me back to my simulation undergrad courses.
But each red dot is a person. A mother. A father. A daughter son or sister. A grandparent or uncle. A friend. A lover. A human.
More and more you see ads with the tag line ‘we’re all in this together’ and I bet that only a small percentage of the nation feels that way.
How about the percentage that has to drop their children at daycare each morning? Or the percentage who got laid off with no money in their savings? Or the physicians, nurses, pharmacists, truckers and grocers on the front-line? Together we stood after our last national turmoil. How can we stand now?
What is the answer? Can we just stop? Should we? How will those families put food on the table? How will the ill be treated?
This is bigger than any national emergency I had ever hoped to witness. But being a mother, the sheer thought of this country stopping, even for a day scares me. How will I feed my daughter tomorrow? Care for her if she runs a fever?
We must do our part in social distancing. Only go out for necessities and only buy the necessary. And keep those who provide those necessities safe and healthy.
I have come to learn a few things this week.
- Be grateful for what you have, as it can be taken from you in seconds.
- Be empathic to those who are in worser conditions than you.
- Be a leader who drives optimism during a time of fear.
I cried last weekend when the reality hit me. I worked so hard from 7-3 each day that I didn’t have time to stop and think about the situation until Friday. But I cried mainly at whether or not I can do the above three things successfully.
Our world is ever changing and we do not know what tomorrow or next week week will bring. All I know is how I need to be now to enjoy each moment I have and get through the day.
There is a light on the other side of this and a story to told. With stories, there are lessons to be learned. Our nation is an ecosystem, run by humans to generate valuable resources to keep the humans happy, safe and healthy. When a virus hits, it compromises the integrity of the ecosystem and starts to break down each resource one by one.
This virus will break us if we let it. We must be mindful. We must recognize we are unique as a nation and we must be use the resources we have to remind us how we got here. And how we will remain here to tell the story.
Everyone has an opinion. This is mine. No opinion is wrong. Just use your mind: Before you speak or leave the house, ask yourself - is it worth compromising my system? My surroundings? My family and friends.
Everyone has the same fear but some choose not to show it. Everyone is susceptible but some are more so than others. Let us be selfless by being selfish. Take care of yourself first and those around you. Then the world will operate the way it was intended to.
It has to, right? Well, I will at least pretend that it will, in the name of leadership, for the sake of my loved ones.
