At this point, the whole world is literally turned upside down by the novel coronavirus, or Covid-19. I've officially been out of work for over 2 weeks but even before that only had a very limited amount of clients. All my weddings have been cancelled for the next couple of months and my heart breaks for everyone who's affected by this in some form or the other... no income, family members sick, kids being home schooled, limited resources, rescheduling of important events, and death. This virus came in with a vengeance and is showing no mercy as it slowly cripples parts of our society, of our norm.
I believe the norm that we once knew will be no more. However, I have noticed great things emerging because of this. A kinder side of society, a back to our roots "it takes a village" mentality. I myself have tried to be kinder and focus on the small things that might make a difference or an impact even from afar since we're all supposed to be practicing social distancing. I've seen people genuinely helping each other by sharing useful information to get them through, donating money to causes, people making masks to help with the shortage, coming together despite the times to help the community after tornadoes destroyed homes and caused substantial damage to several towns.
It's hard to articulate, but times are weird man. Going to the store is weird. Not being able truly engage with people is weird. Returning to "norm" is going to be even weirder. We've been conditioned during this time to fear engagement with others. I'm a hugger. I just want to hug people and offer a sense of comfort in such trying and unstable times. Statistics say you need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 for maintenance, and 12 for growth. A 20sec hug releases oxytocin, which is a hormone that relaxes us and lowers anxiety.... I NEED to love on my people! I fear that in the rush to return to "normal" people are going to have a sort of PTSD towards physical touch.
Right now, worldwide, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. Let us not forget what it means to have a community. Let us not forget to be kind to others, to mother nature, and most importantly to ourselves. If anything, this time has served me as a reflection of things in my own life that needs to change for the better. For that, thank you Coronavirus, for exposing the parts of society and within ourselves that need to be revamped! I just hope the same energy continues and people realize that virus or no virus WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER...figuring out life one day at time!
