Are you a survivor?
There are a lot of people right now who are choosing to crumble in the darkness over this ordeal we are going through. It’s hard on all of us in our own way. Trust me, no one fully understands the internal battle we each face. But crumbling under pressure does not EVER solve anything… and it serves no one. I’ve seen quite a few memes on the internet trying to console people into believing that it’s okay to do nothing… “cuz this is scary stuff.” They encourage us to curl up with a blankie, watch movies and hope we wake up from the nightmare. They are hinging all their hope that someone with make it all better real soon ”
I am not one of those people.
I am a thriver. I believe that despite the challenges we are facing, we can choose to make each day the gift from God that it is. We can get out of bed and choose to attack the day with enthusiasm. Personally, I make a point to give each day my best… even in quarantine.
Forget about me…save the masses!
I love the analogy of the airline attendants telling us that if the oxygen altitude masks drop down, put the mask on ourselves first, before helping others with theirs. There is a reason for this. You have 18 seconds or less to get it on before you pass out! If you choose to help your child… or someone sitting next to you that is acting like a child… first, and it takes you more than 18 second to convince them to put the thing on, neither of you get oxygen. You both get hypoxia and pass out. Your selfless act of serving them first just backfired and helped no one.
Put your mask on.
We are all capable of freezing in the face of danger and failing to follow instructions. I get it… I have five kids and 15 grands. I would gladly give up my mask, oxygen or take a bullet for anyone of them. But what we are going through isn’t like that. Put on your “Game Face,” take a deep breath, and regroup.
Here’s what I do.
I start with myself. I get up at the same time I would normally get up, 6:30AM. After my morning rituals, I shower, get dressed, neaten my hair, and put on some lip gloss. It doesn’t have to be elaborate but I try to make my reflection in the mirror match the kind of day I want to have. My old routine doesn’t exactly fit my new reality so I made a new one. But I have a routine nevertheless. And I stick to it morning to night. Trust me, it makes a difference.
Too much to do.
Our new realities run’s the gambit of either having too much to do or absolutely nothing. With kids and grands homeschooling now, trying to juggle work, food, supplies can be overwhelming. Just make a plan and work down the list. If you can’t get it all done, it’s okay. But just keep working at it. The variables that pop up that are out of your control are no reflection on you. They just are. Roll with them.
Too much time
For some the opposite is true and it feels like total isolation, loneliness and deprivation from human contact. But there is so much we can do. Get on the phone and call friends and shut ins. Call your church leaders and ask them who needs a call and some encouragement. Give your grown children a break and call your grands and keep them occupied for a bit… and in the process build an even stronger relationship with them. Is calling to exhausting? Then text everyone you know and let them know what they mean to you. Even better yet, lets revive pen-pals and send real notes in the mail and give our loved ones something fun to open in the mailbox.
The list is endless of the good you can do.
I’m not even going to address the lists of things I mentioned in my last blog, but there are few things you can’t teach yourself by going to YouTube. Take this opportunity to come through this better for the experience. Like I said last week… two years from now we are all going to talk about this and stories will be told. What will yours be?
Join with me and choose to thrive.
We don’t get to choose who survives and who dies. But we do get to write our own story to our very last breath. Be a shining example to everyone that the world is now a better place, because you lived. Start now.
