A pandemic is exactly what this world needed. While it is sad that many have become ill and
some have lost their lives, as with any illness that strikes us, COVID-19 and
all that it entails is actually doing us a lot of favors. While those that are stuck at home, not
working or not going to school and worrying about what their future may hold,
know this. We are all going to make
it. But we're going to have to make some
pretty drastic changes in order to do so.
We have to do things much differently from here on out. It is time to GYST.
We are currently experiencing a global and economical reset. For far too long the vast majority of us have
been going through life at breakneck speed consuming goods and resources like
there is no tomorrow. In order to keep
up with demand we manufacture and import those things with total disregard for
our planet. We consume and consume and
the byproduct of all that consumption is waste and destruction. Overflowing landfills, factories spewing
pollution and toxic waste, farmland plowed under to make way for urban sprawl,
greenhouse gases and global warming.
We drive and drive and drive and no matter how high the
price of automobiles or fuel gets we still buy and consume. Oil is a natural resource that someday will
run out, whether in our lifetime or our great great grandchildren's who knows,
but it will run out and at the rate we were going probably sooner rather than
later. And while we drive we pump all
that exhaust into the air, not to mention the wear and tear on the roadways
that need to be expanded and made bigger to accommodate more cars.
We are sick and unhealthy.
We eat too much, weigh too much, spend too much time at work to pay for
crap we don't even own anymore. We spend
too much time on our butts, too much time with social media, too much time on
our cell phones. We eat too much
crap. We don't get enough sleep or
exercise or fresh air. We don't spend
time with our families, eating together, talking to each other.
Inflation keeps rising.
We have too much debt. We don't
make enough money to support our lifestyles and our spending habits. Our economy runs on credit and consumerism
that is not sustainable long term. We
want what we want and we want it right now.
We own too much stuff. The excess
and waste is out of control. Something
has to happen. Things have to change.
The pandemic is forcing us to change. We have no other choice. If you aren't paying attention to that then
you are going to miss the boat. We need
to realign our values and how we behave.
This is about far more than hoarding toilet paper and wearing
masks. Our world was about to
implode. We have to be better people and
do a much better job. Whether we realize
it or not, COVID-19 is a blessing and it is not going away anytime soon. We can't afford to dismiss it. We have to change.
We have to pay attention.
AMEN! 50,000+ deaths is horrific and that's going to grow a lot more. I'm grateful we chose a mindful decision-making lifestyle 2 decades ago. I'm glad you share with your readers your pathway as it makes a low stress life filled with options and creativity.
ReplyDeleteHappy Tuesday! :-)
I am incredibly grateful for our mindful lifestyle as well. As bleak as the statistics are I need to feel there is a benefit as well, a silver lining somewhere. If we, mankind as a whole, don't change significantly it really scares me what the will happen next time.
DeleteI agree with your sentiment, but forgive me is I take great issue with one point: Do not call a pandemic a blessing. 50,000+ deaths is not a blessing under any circumstance. I am in a hot spot. In my area, sufferers in the health care facilities have died horrible, painful deaths, and they faced those deaths without their families by their side. This is not a blessing, not to the health care givers, not to their patients, not to their families. But YES, it is time to GYST (well put). What troubles me so, and I think you as well, is the fact that the opportunities to GYST existed prior to the pandemic, but we paid no heed, and they will continue to exist afterwards, but we as Americans have short memories. Calling this a blessing, (imo) plays in to the self absorbed thinking that got us into this mess to begin with. This is a warm, but in this war our soliders are largely women and wage slave the front lines fighting to mitigate the economic casualties. Yeah, that Walmart cashier--she's a soldier. No, this is not a blessing. It SHOULD BE a much needed kick in the behind for those of us "going through life at breakneck speed consuming goods and resources like there is no tomorrow" to change.
ReplyDeleteSo, forgive me if I sound harsh, but this is not a blessing, not even in disguise. The pandemic, at least in the U.S. was a natural consequence of years and years of ignoring the warning signs, and refusing to take action in light of the science predicting it.
May I add a rant of my own as well? (Your blog, feel free to remove it, or not post.) Challenges of home education aside, I have no patience, none, not one iota to spare for those who are finding their time at home tedious and difficult. If adults find themselves so miserable in their homes that they, presumable work so hard and spend much money to outfit, and with their families, then there is something gravely wrong in their life's choices.
Thank you for a great post, and keep fighting the good fight. xoxo
While it is incredibly sad that lives have been taken by this awful virus I personally cannot look upon those deaths and not glean something from their loss. Their lives must not have been lost in vain. I choose to look upon those losses, learn as much as I can from it and make changes necessary so this won't happen again. For these life lessons I do feel blessed. My greatest fear is for next time. Next time won't be so kind to us.
DeleteFor those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
Take care Meg. I pray that you are safe and well.
Wow...I had loads of typos in my post! Sorry.
DeleteYes, we can learn (and should) from it, and endeavor to make sure the lives were not lost in vain. Through great pain can come great change. But, I still struggle with referring to a pandemic as a blessing. The fact is, had we (collective we, not you and me we) been paying attention, this wouldn't have had quite the devastating impact, would it? You preacher, me choir here. But to call 50,000 (+) deaths a blessing? As the kids say, "I. Just. Can't."
Assuming that number is accurate, and there is much speculation it is not, I'm not saying the deaths are a blessing at all. No one in their right mind would say that. COVID-19 is so much more than that. You may interpret my words however you wish, but that is not, in my mind, what I am saying at all. Please don't insist that I am. We all see things differently and I am sharing with all of you how I feel about this. We. Must. Change.
DeleteI'm not sure if over 50,000 will agree. There are people who can't feed their children, losinf, their jobs, and may never get them back. I assume you are working or at least at home. We certainly don't need a pandemic to teach people a lesson.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to disagree with you Cheryl. We do need a pandemic to teach us a lesson. Nothing else has worked.
DeleteI think I get what you are saying, but I also very much get what Meg is saying. And I see where Cheryl is coming from too.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think you and Meg are fundamentally disagreeing, it's a question of semantics more than anything else. Language is highly individual and we all have a slightly different idea what the word blessing actually means. Or being taught a lesson. Or things being sad. I would have said at most a blessing in a heavy disguise, a silver lining to a horrendous dark cloud, a wake up call at a damagingly high volume because the previous, gentler ones were repeatedly snoozed.
And for people losing their lives and or livelihoods, yes, it's sad, but that does not begin to cover it. It's horrifying. Because it didn't need to happen. If people in possession of power and wealth weren't lacking human feeling and empathy, many of those dead would be alive and well now. Virus might not discriminate, but people and systems do. And it's people and systems that are responsible for untold suffering here, not a dumb string of RNA.
Also, I get the need to firmly believe we will make it through this. We need to hold onto that, but the truth is that none of us have any guarantees. We could be the next to be thrown under the bus.
But I think you know all that. I think your mindful life, and preparedness mind set is, like mine, an attempt to do all in our power to increase our chances of getting through this having done the right thing, whether we see the end of this in this life or the next.
Very well said Allegra. Thank you.
DeleteI have learned SO much from this Pandemic. Some are blessings and some are not. The first thing I learned was how this has brought out every nut case with their "opinions" out of the woodwork. They want to boo-hoo about this or that. We have lived mindful for years. We aren't rich but we were prepared. We run our small business that way too. That is the only reason we have been surviving this shutdown just fine with no government help. I totally understand what you are saying. MY OPINION is you are correct. This little reset should be a heads up to those out there not prepared, and picking at others, to get theirselves together because a bigger, nastier, more deadly thing could come. Cindy Huxtable
ReplyDeleteIt really scares me Cindy if people don't wise up and pay attention to what has happened. We are doing well because we are prepared and I can't believe how many people are mad at me for that. Really? Wow.
DeleteI under stand if you dont publish my last comment, I just wanted to know you were spot on in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate you. Thank you. :o)
DeleteI 100% agreed with you. Those of us that were better prepared and didn't buy into I need it NOW, were better able to ride this out. It is unfortunate, that we have to lose so many people. But we needed a wake up call. And we got one. Thank you for posting this,you said what I been thinking, but didn't say because you come across as not caring.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is we do care, right? A lot! I don't want things to go back to how they were. We need this lesson and we need to learn it. Take care Connie. :o)
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