How much can change in four months?
Apparently, a lot. COVID-19 has caused governments and businesses to do things they would never (and I mean, NEVER) do in a normal circumstance. Businesses that have invested millions (if not billions) of their currency on cyber-infrastructure are urging their employees to work from home. Some begrudgingly, yes. But they are doing it. Schools have shifted their teaching styles to online learning. Even the tax collector is cutting people slack on their payments, and not just the rich.People on an international scale have had to make some
really, painful decisions. From the doctors to the average homeowner/renter, COVID-19
has made the average day-to-day routine not so average. That’s to say, if you
are one of those people who think this virus is actually something worth taking
seriously. Granted, I have a little conspiracy theorist in me, too. I admit.
However, even I know how to weigh proving people wrong, against sacrificing my
own safety to do it. But I’ll leave that discussion for another time.
This post is really for the people around the world who others
have labeled weak, vulnerable, and emotionally unstable (or my personal
favorite, hyper-sensitive). When the economy continued to purr sweetly through the
thin veil of time, these “great, and honorable people” would allocate every
minute of their time to chastise others incapable of ignoring their needs,
while they enjoyed the strength they received from being allowed to travel to
their places of worship, their favorite nightclubs, their bars, their lover’s
homes, etc. Yet, they could never (or refused to) recognize that those
interactions are what gave them strength. They happily boasted that their
success and stability came because of what they did, not because of what others
had to sacrifice to get them there. They enjoyed the overflowing and deep
reservoir of emotional intelligence that others offered freely to them through
touch, through smell and through sound. Yet they dedicated every breadth of
that energy and opportunity, to destabilize and demean others – highlighting
their misfortune because of their kindness.
When COVID-19 hit, these same people took the stance that
this was nothing but a flu. You know what, they may be right. However, because
they never tried to cultivate the emotional intelligence to consider the ‘what
ifs’ from the very beginning, they continued their everyday routines like
nothing happened. It could never happen to them because they were masters of
their own fate.
But YOU didn’t. You considered the ‘what-ifs’. You
assessed the possibility that this disease may be worse than many officials made
it out to be. You, through years of feeling belittled and helpless, recognized
that many things are beyond your control, and all you can do is prepare for the
worst, yet hope for the best. You already began wearing a mask before any
health expert told you to. You made all the preparations to stock up your
supplies, buy extra sanitizers and keep your distance from others, not because
someone told you to, but because it made sense to do it. You took these steps
just in case, because you didn’t want to somehow become infected and, in turn,
infect others. Why? Because you had no idea what being infected would do to
you, to your health, to your mental state, especially if someone else were to
die from it. To hell with where it came from, or who brought it here. It is
here and you made it your duty to stop it if it ever reached you, so that the
chance of others getting sick would be minimal at best.
You’re not out there finding excuses to leave your homes. You’re not shutting your ears and eyes to the
You, the retired elderly. You, the loving teenager. You, the
considerate adult. You, the adoring father. You, the concerned mother, You, the
caring sister. You, the thoughtful brother. You, the sympathetic pastor. You,
the brilliant child. You, the careful co-worker. All of you, who others looked
down as emotional, unsettled, vulnerable, dependent, weak, unmotivated,
unconcerned, incapable of surviving in the cold, cruel world we live in, are
doing everything in your power to make it a little warmer for everyone, even
though you may not be the one receiving that warmth. But you deserve all the warmth,
love, patience, consideration, and respect that this world has to offer,
because it is you who is strong, powerful and the most suited to survive in
this world. Let no one tell you otherwise.
Much Love,
Everybody’s Guy
P.S. Enjoy this song from one of the strongest people I know.
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