Dear friends. Our world has been uprooted seemingly overnight due to the coronavirus. Some of the hardest times we will ever face are at hand. Just remember, we are all in this together. You are not alone. In the midst of this storm, let’s remember our shared humanity and practice charity, patience, kindness, and hope whenever possible.

SEEDS OF CHARITY, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, AND HOPE 

Understandably, many of us have found ourselves reacting to the current pandemic. Mostly, we have come face-to-face with fear. And there’s only one way to turn that around. ‘’

Love. The opposite of fear is love.

In the past few days, I’ve heard about more people turning fear into love. I’ve heard about home seamstresses making masks for grocery store workers, older people and people who are more vulnerable, health care workers, and others.

I’ve heard about stores opening up their first hour of business for the elderly. Younger people are also volunteering to shop for older people and leaving the groceries at the door so the elderly are at less risk.

I heard about the nurse who found one bottle of alcohol at the store but was a couple of dollars short to pay her grocery bill. The person behind stepped up to buy it for her, even though there’s an extreme shortage and rubbing alcohol is high on everyone’s grocery list. Right up there with toilet paper of all things.

I heard about the young woman who found an older lady sitting in her car, shaking from fear of going into the grocery store. The younger woman went in and shopped for her.

Charity and kindness are alive during the coronavirus. These acts of kindness restore our hope in humanity and help us to realize we are not alone. Let’s find ways to do the same.

WE NEED PATIENCE, NOW MORE THAN EVER

There are so many things that changed overnight for us. Social distancing, working from home, postponing our social activities, and even going to our places of worship.

If this continues, we will no doubt need a lot of patience. But, remember that we’re doing it out of love. We’re doing it because we want to see our kids and our grandkids grow up in a better world.

We’re doing it because we’re trying to keep Grandma and Grandpa healthy. We’re doing it to keep ourselves healthy. We also want to minimize the impact on our healthcare system.

Let’s all be more patient together. We just need to remember that this is but a season of our entire lives. 

And, let’s look at the positive lessons and blessings it can bring us. Since we’re home more with our families for a while, we can reconnect from the fast-paced world we’ve been stuck in for a while. 

We will also appreciate everything so much more and never take anything for granted again. 

We may be social distancing for a while, but in the meantime, let’s seize the moments we have. 

And when we find ourselves at the grocery store, let’s remember there are others there who also need groceries and are going through the same thing we are. 

WAYS TO GET THROUGH THIS

When things get tough, it’s easy to wonder how we’ll ever get through it. But, we will. Our grandparents and great-grandparents went through two world wars, the Great Depression, polio, and the 1918 pandemic. 

Yet, most of them survived. Most of them lived on and produced children that would do great things in this world. Life went on. And it will continue to do so.

But, in the meantime, what can we do to make it easier?

• Stay positive. A good mindset will help you persevere with optimism and hope.

• Reach out to loved ones often. Skype with your grown kids or parents, call those you love and just stay connected. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean complete separation.

• Concentrate on a hobby. Maybe plant the garden you’ve always wanted to or try your hand at painting. 

• Limit media time. This includes social media. While you want to stay connected to what’s going on, listening to what’s happening all the time isn’t good for you.

• Spend more time outside. Have coffee on the patio. Or, do some light exercises at sunrise just as the birds are greeting the world with their song in the morning. Feel the air and the sun on your face. It’ll make you feel alive.

• Pray and meditate. Whatever your beliefs, it can help you have more inward peace.

• Spend more time with your family. Put a puzzle together, play games, or look at old family albums.

• Help where you can. If you can sew, consider making masks like so many others are doing, or shop for an older neighbor.

• Find things to be thankful for each day. At first thought, you may think it’s a hard thing to do right now. But, you’d be surprised how many things you can appreciate even during difficult times. 

• Breathe. Just remember, someday, this too shall pass.

One day, we’ll look back and this will look like a bump in the road. The coronavirus will be but one event over our entire lives. We’ll come out stronger, we’ll love more deeply, and we’ll find things to laugh about.

In the meantime, stay healthy and safe.