Hello all. I hope this post finds you all well, healthy, & safe.

A while ago when this pandemic first began I had posted that I had so much to say but couldn’t form the words to say it. I am still feeling that way but thought I would give it a shot. Expressing yourself through writing is very healing. It is the reason I like to write poetry and it is one of the reasons I blog, as it may be the reason for many of you.

The reason I decided to give it a try today is because of the past few weeks LIVE service messages. They were about how we are all going through a time of lamenting. Though in this time of lamenting we may be ignoring the process of healing. We all want things to get back to “normal” as quickly as possible. We want to get from A to Z as quickly as possible.

People are dying, committing suicide, fighting, abuse is prevalent (we hear about in domestic cases but I’m sure the animals/pets are suffering terribly too as we know many farm animals are), crime is up, we’re experiencing job loss and financial crisis. To top it off we can’t see many of our loved ones which we may need now more than ever. So of course, it makes sense to want to get from A to Z as quick as possible.

But what about B-Y? Are we just going to pretend they aren’t there? Are we going to speed past them? Are we going to suppress our emotions? As things reopen are we going to act as if nothing happened? Are we just going to go back to the “rat race?” If so, is that the right thing  or the best thing to do?

During this time there is a lot of good going on but there is also a lot of ugliness going on. People are judging others on whether they are going to the store or doing drive up, whether they are wearing a face mask or not, whether they are choosing to stay home,  or whether they are letting their kids get together with friends. Leaders are being judged consistently on their decisions. Who is taking this seriously, who is not taking this seriously. Who is staying 6 feet away and who isn’t.

We’re trying to decide whether to order take out or not all the while with people judging saying we should be supporting our businesses.

Besides all of the judging, we’re all trying to figure out where to buy toilet paper, soap, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting wipes. We’re angry at those who are hoarding making it difficult for the rest of us.

Then there is the psyching ourselves out….”Do I have a sore throat? I think I have a sore throat.” “Oh oh. I have to sneeze but I’m in the line at Target. Don’t sneeze, don’t sneeze, don’t sneeze.” “I’m so hot. Am I having a hot flash or do I have a fever?” “Oh my gosh, should I go get tested?”

Sound familiar?

All of that and now things are starting to open back up all around the world. But this pandemic is here to stay, at least for a while. Things are not going to get back to “normal” for quite some time. So this may be where the B-Y comes in. We need to learn how to exist and coexist in a whole new way. We may be saying goodbye to our current way of doing life. This is a time for mourning (lamenting) for all of us and we do have to deal with that. We can’t race to Z. Life is already a rat race, always trying to get to Z. So you could say there are lessons to be learned and emotions to deal with and if we do that we may come out even better on the other side of all of this.

Last thought I have for today is that we need to realize that, yes, we all do have different opinions and we all have reasons for our opinions. We do not see the whole picture and we do not know what someone else is going through. THIS is what makes us all unique individuals. THIS is why we have freedom of speech in the U.S. THIS is what sometimes actually makes us see someone else’s perspective and may even change our minds. THIS is what helps us grow and fight and stand up for things and make changes. THIS is what can tear us apart or bring us together. THIS is where we see the true identity of others and ourselves. Because it’s THIS, times like these, that should bring us together no matter what the opinion is. Just show LOVE.

I‘ll end for now. More thoughts to come in later posts.

I don’t get as much time to write right now as I used to but the day will come when I’ll be right back to it. In the mean time I am still creating images and hope you like this one. Adding a little humor to your day. 🙂