This is personal...
I am not a big advocate of fear. Not that I don't feel it. I just rather be doing something else other than spending my time worrying about something I can't control.
But....recently I felt that specter right over my shoulder for a moment. I was getting sick and my first thought was "Oh no, I have the Corona Virus."
So ummmmm....yeah. I got tested.
Test results after a day of waiting...negative.
But I need you to know something about me. Getting sick isn't a big deal to me. It is a bit of pain, and struggle, but I have been dealing with pain my entire life. There isn't a day that I wake up where I am not facing the Beast we call Pain.
So yeah...not afraid of being sick. Not afraid of being in pain.
But..
I was afraid for my family. I was afraid that I could have gotten them sick before I got my test or the results.
My heart started beating fast. My head starting to pound.
Then....I realized who I was.
I promise you I am not being arrogant. What I mean by the statement is I remembered that of all of the people in the world, of all of the things that I could control, there was only one.
My "Moment"
Of all of the moments that were happening or were going to happen, this was mine.
It belonged to me. So too did the actions I took in it. I couldn't control whether I got sick, but there was something that I could do, could control.
I could control how I acted and responded in "My" moment.
Big things...Little things.
I could let fear get a grip on me so tight that everything else would fall by the wayside.
I chose instead to concentrate on the small things that make up the big things that were happening in my life.
Most people learn through tragedy. Sad...but true. But...there is also a positive way to look at this.
We could learn to look love the little things, and the little things that make big things.
Currently, our lives today have been so impacted by the things going on in this place we call the world that we have forgotten that we are only here for a short time in the scheme of things.
Big things...Little things.
Somewhere along the way we have forgotten those small things that mean so much. That is until we were reminded by a virus that required us to stay indoors.
Now instead of hugging, giving out high fives, doling out pounds and shaking hands, we wave from across the street, nod our heads and keep our feet moving away from any potential human contact. Funny how so much can change so fast.
For some everything that was ever taken for granted has been removed as option. Even our closest friends are now miles away...even if they live next door.
Our houses which may have seemed so large and fancy might now to some feel like prison cells. Our yards don't seem big enough to sate cabin fever.
With all of the things we have, all of the money, the fancy cars, the shoes and bags, nothing gives us the control we have lost.
All dressed up...no where to go.
And maybe that is a part of the problem. We are looking so hard at what we "Can't" do, at where we "Can't" go, that we have forgotten to remind ourselves about how much we "Do" have.
Big things...Little things.
Through this all, we have to remember to rejoice, to remind ourselves that no although no moment is promised we can still work towards what is in our reach, and even then to stand on our tippy toes and reach a little further. To find ways to fill what ever moments we have with as much joy and happiness we can find.
Find them, or make them, but don't forget to cherish them.
This is the time to hug those you can a little tighter, a little longer. To play that game, or watch that movie, or put away the phones and have dinner punctuated by laughter versus the ding of incoming text message.
Tik Tok ain't got nothing on family time.
So the next time you watch the news, or read something online that brings back that fear, I want you to call a friend, or family member or go grab your spouse, significant other or child and tell them that you love them. Or that you miss them.
Wave to the neighbor. Call "Auntie", send a text to your brother who got drunk at your birthday and threw up on your shoes.
Earl never could handle "Henny"
Now is the moment. The reminder is here. Listen.
These are our moments. Even if sometimes they aren't the way we would prefer. We can't control the world or what it throws at us, but we can be resilient, loving, caring....human in the world we are in.
6 Feet or 600 miles....
The space between us will never define us.
Speaker...Coach
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