Covid19. Coronavirus. Pandemic. Everything we are experiencing now touches on all things scary for me and for a lot of you. And to be honest, it is difficult, if not, impossible to truly understand and comprehend everything. What should I believe? What should I do? What should I avoid?
I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I feel like we are all walking a fine line between "over-reacting" and doubting to being prepared and doing the right thing. The flip flop in my brain is pretty constant right now - back and forth - back and forth.
Quarantine. Social distancing. Hand Hygiene. Telecommuting. Hot Spots. Incubation Periods. Vulnerable Populations. Droplets. Oh My!
I thought about perusing google and creating a nice little list for everything Covid19 - we don't need a list from news sources, from political perspectives, from WHO, from CDC, from social media - we need to take it back old school.
Where were you when the world stop turning... Do you remember the Alan Jackson song that came out shortly after 9/11? The words ring true today.
"Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us - And the greatest is love".
These are the basics we need to rely on and go back to. We need to keep pushing through, just a different variation of KPT. Yes, most definitely, we need to wash our hands; yes we need to practice social distancing and yes we need to follow the orders of our employers, but we also need to follow the orders of our body, our heart, our mind, our well-being.
Faith. When you hear the word faith, you may think God or religion. That is very much true. However, faith can be defined any number of ways; such as; complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Faith indicates persistent action, devotion, and direction of self, and is often charged with emotion. Whether we like it or not, we are all charged with emotion right now and we need to have a little faith. Faith in ourselves. Faith in humanity. Faith acts almost as if it's a comfort.
Hope. To have hope is to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true. Hope is to expect with confidence. Hope is to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. We must have hope right now. We have to have hope. We must anticipate better times and better health. If faith is our comfort, hope is our dream.
Love. We all know what love means. Love is a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. We must care for our loved ones. And the greatest is love. Those lyrics rang true almost 20 years ago and they ring true now. Love is our action. Love is our driving force. Love makes quarantine, social distancing, hand hygiene, telecommuting, isolation and incubation periods much easier. We will do all those things for the ones we love.
What do you need to feel safe? Now this will vary person to person. Remember this is new to everyone, we are all just winging it; there isn't a right or wrong.
Practice mindfulness. I cannot stress this enough. What does your body need? Take care of yourself. Less contact with people. Rest. Hydrate. My boss said it best --> Don't be a hero. This is not the time to buck up and head into work. Check on your loved ones. Just because you aren't out and about; it doesn't mean full isolation - we are blessed with the technology to stay in touch. Be kind to yourself. Be smart. Keep pushing through. Show compassion. Remember, this uncertainty exists for everyone - you are not alone. Use this time as an opportunity to slow down, stay home, and reconnect with loved ones. Be Well. KPT.
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