“Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.”
Henry Ward Beecher
I thought I’d share this meme with you that has been circulating. Hopefully it will put a smile on your face. I couldn’t help but laugh when I found it on Facebook, and thought, “Yeah, that’s what it feels like.” At any moment, we’re going to get picked off by something unbelievably frightening. Our lives are turning into a reality show, and all the writers of horror stories have joined together to script the show entitled, “What’s next?”
2020 what else should we expect?
“What’s next?” would be an appropriate title, because that’s the question on all of our minds, right? What’s next after all of this disruption has its way with us? What will the world look like? Am I going to face the illness or death of a loved one or even myself? I don’t think I’ve ever felt more out of control in my life, but there are people in far worse circumstances that I can imagine. I am aware how fortunate I am to be safe, have a place to sleep and food is not an issue. It feels like we’re back to clinging to the basic needs.
It will be four weeks since I arrived in France. I’m not sure when I’ll be returning home at this point, or how it will feel to be back. My heart breaks for both of my homes and the world. Although Italia seems to be stabilizing, it will be a long road back to anything that resembles normal. The US is heading deeper into the worst part of the crisis. I worry about my family and friends in both places. There’s a lot to make my heart heavy.
I find myself watching the stories and feeling hopeless about what’s next. At some point, your mind protects itself and just starts to cloud over from the news feeds, the pictures and the videos. It’s a bit like the grief experience after the death of a loved-one. The gravity of the situation is too hard to face head-on, so your subconscious feeds it to you in small doses. It’s covered in a varnished dullness of disbelief until you can absorb it fully. It’s impossible not to weep at the images and the stories. It feels as if the entire world is going through the grieving process together–we’re mourning the death of socialization, comfort, convenience and security.
I have had a lot of time to reflect on life during my daily walk with Elsie (the dog of the house) and think long and hard about the current state of my life. The year 2019 was full of adventure, discovery, love and growth. The year 2020 so far is a #$@&$! If I had the chance to cancel or restart 2020, I would. However, I can’t. We’re all in this now trying to find a daily lift, something to bring hope. It’s a constant stretch to find something positive. Life is on hold, and the year 2020 interrupted.
There is still a lot of good news
Recently, I scoured the internet for good news stories, things that could be uplifting – showing human beings and our broader civilization at its best. These gave me signs of hope to soothe my “what’s next” anxiety a bit. I sorted through a number of stories, and I’ll share the ones that were most interesting to me. I hope they bring an uplift to you.
Elle Magazine Online published 42 Positive News Stories in the following article on April 3, there are a few things that made me smile. https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/g31658888/coronavirus-covid-19-good-news
BBC News provided this perspective on March 28. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52068233
On April 1, the Guardian published an article acknowledging the African immigrants in Italia working in the fields during this time. They are providing valuable food to feed the population. It highlights their own struggle for recognition in society, not unlike the Mexican immigrant story woven deep within the US. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/01/a-beautiful-thing-the-african-migrants-getting-healthy-food-to-italians
On April 4, also by The Guardian, was a sweet story about 99-year old Rita Reynolds. She is believed to be the oldest survivor in Great Britain to recover from Covid-19. She recovered after she was prescribed end-of-life drugs. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/great-grandmothers-secret-to-beating-covid-19-marmalade-sandwiches
Finally, on the medical development front, I thought it was hopeful to reference the following page from the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufactures. The highlight here is, “As of March 2020, there are a number of therapeutics currently in clinical trials and more than 20 vaccines in development.” https://www.ifpma.org/subtopics/novel-coronavirus-covid-19-industrys-rd-efforts/
Keep the faith in whatever you believe
As I stated in my last blog, there has never been a time when the world has united around a common goal. I have faith that it will yield results, we just have to get through the next several weeks without losing ourselves in the process. This is time for all of us to have faith in something much bigger than us; the collective human spirit, the Divine, or the universal source or love. This is beyond the individual, and will take a collective effort. This is the time to help each other.
When you see someone low, bring them higher. If someone is anxious or scared, comfort and soothe them. If you see a need, offer to help. Be useful any way possible. The collective kindness of billions of people is at work and will bring us through this.
The Italian expression “andrà tutto bene” means, “all will be well.” I have faith in the future and in my fellow humans. In the meantime, I’m going to remind myself to focus on what’s now instead of what’s next. I am going to try to be patient and loving with myself, and I will strive to be that way with others.
If you have any “good news” stories or links, let us know what part of the world you are from and share your good news with us in the comments. Thank you for following The Spaghetti Diaries, and above all, be well now and leave some love behind where you see it missing.
Luke