Focus On The Silver Lining
As I'm sure is the case with all of you, I've heard and seen the almost constant drum beat of negative news that has come out of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the news coverage of the event.
In addition, I'm sure that you've all seen the upbeat messages of encouragement, "This Too Shall Pass", "We're All In This Together", ect. And while I do appreciate the positive vibrations, I'm not so sure that with all of the unknowns about this pandemic, that for at least the time being, that these messages might fall into the platitudes category.
That said, my home office desk looks out over my front yard and I've noticed a definite silver lining going on! Prior to the pandemic, I would often see a good number of people walking, jogging, biking, etc. by my desk, but I'd say that about 90% of these people were people who "looked" like they would be into staying in shape.
Now, I'm seeing ALL KINDS of people passing my desk! Old folks, fat folks, skinny folks, families, young couples walking arm and arm and some of these people look like they haven't been on a walk, or jog in a very long time! And to them, I say, "Congratulations!"
I realize that after the pandemic does pass (which it will....eventually) that a good number of these folks will go back to their normal sedimentary life-styles, but I'm sure that not all of them will. Some will have caught the fitness bug and will continue taking better care of themselves. And to these people, I not only congratulate them, I give them a hardy "HOORAH!"
And getting in shape is only part of the silver lining here. Think about all of the other silver linings to this pandemic are out there?
For example, yesterday, I saw a guy who had to weigh close to 400 lbs riding a bicycle behind a young boy who I assumed to be his son. The son said something apparently humorous to his father and his father responded with a HUGE belly laugh (I did mention that this guy probably weighed close to 400 lbs, did I not?) and when he did, the boy squealed with delight and laughter. I thought, "How Cool, these rides might be the basis for a lifetime of memories for both of them!"
Later, when I was watching television, a story came on about how people are cooking at home and are actually eating together. The reporter quoted sources that the food that people who eat at home tends to be healthier and that sharing meals can actually reduce stress and blood pressure!
I've also seen stories about how people are using the extra time to reach out to old friends that they haven't spoken to in a while or to reread a favorite book. One guy that I heard of is FINALLY going through his LP collection (my younger readers can google the term) and tossing the ones with scratches!
At my home, my wife and I have taken some of the time that we would have otherwise been busy running here and there to build a raised garden bed (something that we've been talking about doing for years, but until now, simply didn't get around to). On that note, I'd like to offer a big shout out to Triangle Landscape Supplies for the excellent job that they are doing of taking care of business while keeping their staff and customers safe through social distancing)
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So, I hope that you can see that while there are huge downsides to having a pandemic running through our society, that there are also opportunities to slow down and if not smell the roses, to maybe grow some?
If nothing else, heed Bill and Ted's most excellent advice!
As always, the opinions expressed in this article are those of Bob Mitchell alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Glory Mortgage or any other entity.?All photos published under creative commons license with attribution when requested.
* People Jogging by Paul Holloway under creative commons license
** Home cooked meal via Pxfuel under creative commons license
*** Be Excellent GIF via KnittyPitity on Redit.com