Perspective is a Gift

Perspective is a gift, and the world being upside down is a wonderful opportunity to step back and focus on what we can learn from what we are experiencing. Here are a few things that come to mind:

1. It was always important to care for the sick and elderly- now that point is driven home all the more when their vulnerability is made even more visible. Whether caring for people means staying away so as not to infect them, or it means offering to bring groceries — or making a phone call to someone who is isolated- hopefully this focus on how to notice and help people who are in need stays with us long after this situation has passed.
2. Someone told me that their coworkers are complaining bitterly about having to be home with their kids day in and day out. I found that to be one of the saddest things I have heard in a long time. Hopefully close quarters will help to bind more families together and help people to appreciate the people closest to them in new ways. My heart goes out to people who are forced to be home in situations of great friction- having lived through divorce myself, I can only imagine how this situation would be challenging under those conditions. All the more reason for all of us to remain in close touch with friends and family members via electronic means to provide emotional support where needed.
3. Much has been written about continuing to support the service people in your life however best you can. Shopping local, now more than ever, is important. Buying gift certificates or continuing to pay service workers (like cleaning services) even if the service isn’t being performed- if that is a possibility financially for you- is a good idea. Our society has become so impersonal, perhaps one of the lessons we can take away from this is that we are all more interconnected than we think, and helping the people we cross paths with every day is an opportunity we have now.
4. A lot gets outsourced in many areas of life- there are many memes floating around talking about “now we will see what people’s real hair color is” because of not being able to go to the salon. I am a real DIY gal in general, and fortunately there are so many ways to color hair (my favorite is e-Salon), manicure (been doing it at home since I was 12), etc. With more time on our hands than many of us usually have at home, it is a good idea to brush up on these things. I am also a fan of the Fly Lady website if you are looking for an efficient way to keep your home clean.
5. I was never that much of a gym person — preferring videos on YouTube or other forms of exercise. With a teenager at home, I am finding that making exercise a family activity is fun, and also goes to show you don’t have to spend money to get in shape! We are keeping a spreadsheet of what we do every day (basically pushups, sit-ups and stair running)- it’s a distraction but also why not come out of this pandemic in better shape if you can?
6. Between reading more books, doing jigsaw puzzles (I just kicked off a 3000 piece puzzle), doing more cooking, keeping up with work projects, and doing more of the overall DIY projects (also brushing up on my guitar skills and learning to oil paint with Bob Ross), I am also keeping in touch with my various friend communities with Zoom calls and other group dial-ins. Everyone I talk to is focusing on family and simpler pleasures in life. Could it be that this difficult time is causing the reset button to be hit in many of our lives?

Perhaps most importantly there are people that are worthy of focusing on, all those people who are NOT working from home, that are keeping our world moving forward. The garbage men and truck drivers, the farmers producing our food and the people selling it in the grocery stores, as well as the police, fire and military personnel that continue to keep us safe in a time of great uncertainty. There are still products being manufactured, and there are still plumbers and electricians and other trades people who are still on call and are still making the world work. Our priests, and pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders who comfort and visit and pray for all of us. And mostly for our medical personnel who are in harms way every day- and who run the risk of real exhaustion and illness. We owe all of these people an enormous debt of gratitude- always, but in this time of more focused perspective we remember to thank them.