Are you upset, angry, frustrated, or depressed about the pandemic and the way it is being dealt with in our country? Let me ask you, do any of those emotions serve you? When you are spending time with emotions that aren’t doing anything to make your life and the lives of others better in some way, why using your precious time in that way?
I understand that everything is not as we would love it to be at this point, so why not do something about it? For instance, if you are upset or angry about how the government is dealing with the whole pandemic or any part of it, get out your journal. Make a list of each thing someone else is doing that you feel is wrong. Write it all down. Don’t stop writing until you have covered everything that ticks you off. When you finish your list, take a breath, or a few. Relax and release all that negativity from your consciousness.
Now, choose one item on that list to focus on. How can you, just you, make a difference in whatever it is. For instance, if you are frustrated that when you arrive at the grocery store, people aren’t wearing masks there or don’t keep their social distance, go to another store where they do.
I had to buy groceries yesterday. I haven’t been out in five weeks to do that and our cupboards were pretty bare. Usually on Maui the traffic is a dream compared to the mainland. The speed limits are lower and the drivers courteous. Yesterday was crazy. People were speeding and dangerously cutting in and out of traffic. I was going the speed limit and keeping appropriate distances, but lots of the drivers weren’t. I decided to stay in the slow lane and practice good driving. There is no way I could know if someone wasn’t rushing their passenger to the hospital, or someone was having a baby, or they were trying to get to a loved one who was dying. Getting angry with the crazy drivers would only make me upset and make my driving worse. I recognized that this was an anomaly and wished those anxious drivers well.
Another issue we are dealing with now is a lack of integrity or a lack of essential information being disseminated. We could get angry and complain about this, but that wouldn’t serve us. What we can do is only pay attention to reliable resources and ignore the rest. And find ways to deal positively with the situation we are in. My neighbors left a beautiful arrangement of flowers from their yard on my doorstep. Another neighbor always picks up prescriptions when I need them. We all call each other when we go to buy groceries to see if anything is needed. Find positive, creative things to do to make where you are staying right now the best it can be.
I love that saying about making lemons into lemonade. When you start feeling yourself being drawn into the negativity, actively do something right then to change what you need to, like turn the television off. Focus on all the joy, beauty, wonder, and love we all can share. Only speak positively. When you surrender to what is, make it be love.
