COVID-19 is all the news can talk about. It’s all most of us can talk about right now and who can blame us? I’ve been stuck at home for 5 days now with no end to “self-isolation” and “social distancing” in sight.
After reposting my blog per a couple of requests, I thought I’d add to it since I have nothing else to do and this is a scary time… especially if you are prone to overwhelming anxiety and a sense of crushing hopelessness *wink wink nudge nudge*.
Have you seen Frozen 2 yet? If not, it’s out on Disney Plus and is a must-see for any adult struggling through quarantine (obviously this does not apply to the adults with kids who have already played it 489 times).
Hopefully, this doesn’t spoil too much but…Olaf has a song in which he reflects on how overwhelmed he is feeling in his current circumstance and hopes that he will one day be old enough that it will all make sense. Personally, I get a good little chuckle out of this because I often feel that the older I get the less anything makes sense and the answers I was SURE I would have by now are very far away.
If you were raised with any religion (regardless of if you still follow it) you might find yourself hoping that one day the intense fear, panic and grief that has come with this pandemic will ultimately prove to have a positive outcome; that it is part of a plan. I would like to feel that way myself but I find the dark cloud that follows me and anxious knot in my chest often screaming that there is no way out of here. That this is it. I will never be employed again, because nobody wants to send their kid to school or daycare with this monster on the loose, lurking on any handrail or playground. My paint-by-numbers is hard. The only thing easy to make is a glass of wine.
New York Times has a list of stretches and exercises you can do, of course, I’ve seen many other recommendations for how to stay sane and practice self-care. However, as you will see if you delve into this blog any further, my saving grace has always come from connecting with other people. I have heard about Anonymous programs that have started having meetings on Zoom. That is genius. We are all losing it. It is an international experience. So I have started reaching out to people that I haven’t caught up with in weeks, months, or years and once again, the incredible people in my world are saving me one phone call at a time.
Back to Frozen 2, later in the movie Anna experiences and intense moment of hopelessness and has a song about moving forward even when you can’t see very far down the road. Below are a couple lines from it.
“This grief has a gravity, it pulls me down
But a tiny voice whispers in my mind
You are lost, hope is gone
But you must go on
And do the next right thing”
So I suggest that if you can’t figure out a “next right thing” in your life right now, give calling someone you haven’t spoken to in a while a try. Who knows? Maybe one day "absolutely everything will make sense"!
P.S. Just to clarify, I’m a big believer in calling, especially right now. Text/direct message if that’s all you’re up for but I encourage you to call if you can, FaceTime is even better; really re-connect. Also, I'm really bored so if you have my phone number or social media I'd love to be one of the people you chat with!
Here is the link to When I’m Older
and The Next Right Thing
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