You must agree that we are certainly living in uncertain times. When I leave home for walks to the cleaners, grocery store, pharmacy, library or just for exercise the conversation seems to revolve around the same issue — what do we need to protect ourselves from the coronavirus. It brings me such pleasure to be an active listener, it's almost like being a fly on the wall, taking it all in, but appearing as you are deep in thought. Often when walking home people say "hello" and say "how's it going mate". The difference is now most people wait for a reply and go on to share their genuine concern and share their thoughts on what they are doing to protect themselves and their family.
Ironically enough, I have not met anyone who has lived long enough to have ever gone through what we are encountering today. Several colleagues have referred to the AIDS crisis back in the 1980s, but others that lived through it disagree. My work in media and communications for a health department during the Zika virus was no comparison, nor my work in disaster planning in 2005 when hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and killed 1,833 residents.
It's very odd, but I feel that I have been through similar experiences that the world is going through before today. Sometimes I feel broken because fear and the urge to empty out a grocery store and buy more than I could ever use has not entered my mindset. All week I have been considering some of the reasons why I am feeling distance from the scary feelings that I see being demonstrated by people fighting over toilet paper and pasta and not being willing to share with others. I also ponder the amazing rise of global racism and hatred towards anyone that is considered from Asian decent. The increase in violence, name calling and bullying to others trying to survive seems totally irrational to me. This is a time that I probably spend too much time in my head reading and learning about the true history of the world. I discovered that a virus that could kill many people is not a justification to mistreat people because of the way they may look to someone. It feels like a vaccine is needed for an even more vicious disease called RacismStupidityVirus that circles the world whenever a scape goat is needed to create some odd type of self pride.
It feels like I have been preparing for distancing my entire life and many lessons were learned that I am starting to use today. When I was a freshman in college, I was selected to join other students in an exchange program in Rome, Italy. At the time I didn't even know what a Rome was but I soon found out. My family also didn't have the money to pay for me to attend. My college counselor saw my excitement and informed me that I was going to attend school abroad. Many years later it was discovered that he paid for me out of his own pocket. I only wish that I had known and had been able to thank him, even today I can't locate him. I remained in Europe after school for an additional year and survived on luck. Many years later I sold everything, being sick of life in America, and moved to Paris, France. It was a challenging experience and I spent every day struggling at Alliance Française to learn the language, meet friends and survive. Then 2 ½ to 3 years living and working in a place I didn't want to be, Washington, D.C. I truly believe that life enjoys throwing bumps in the road so that we can stumble or often fall down and smash your head to see if you will receive the message. DC was an unexpected present offered to me by a wonderful person that obviously saw something in me that I didn't see. She offered me a position working for the White House under the Obama Administration. All of these adventures led me to where I am today. Something very special happened with all of my friends and loved ones, we never lost touch with each other.
During the time of social distancing, I like referring to it as Geographic Distancing because it's like a rerun of one of my favourite movies. Without all the social media today, I was able to stay in touch with everyone and on a constant basis. During that time we wrote long, funny and often dramatic letters sharing our deepest thoughts. Today, I am using those same thoughts to reach out to those that I truly care about. Today, it's easier to stay in touch using a variety of social media tools and online chats. The first thing I did was to make a list of the people that mean the most to me. They could be true friends, as well as some family members. I refuse to be devastated or depressed by what the news is telling us about coronavirus. I want to continue enjoying my life and being grateful for everything that I have today, not yesterday and not tomorrow. I am in the process of setting up happy hour cocktails with friends thru Zoom, FaceTime or Skype. I have increased contact with my special ones on Facebook, What's App, Line, Viber, and Signal. It feels like we are closer and more social than ever before. Probably like most people today, I have great friends all over the world. They are in France, Australia, Italy, Ireland, England, Germany, Brazil, Mexico and the United States and although I miss being in the same room with them, I still feel very close to them. It's incredible to be able to communicate every single day, share stories, ask for each other's advice and laugh a lot. A very special friend started my brain wave by reminding me that she was returning to holding very small, intimate dinners and parties for those in her special network. While there we can lift our champagne or martinis up with a toast and bump elbows, butts or make the Wakanda sign. The purpose to to reconnect and enjoy each other.
So what does this time mean to you? What plans do you have to stay in touch with your friends and family members and enjoy each and every day to the fullest?
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