The headline news screams at you as you nestle in the latter part of your day into your comfy oversized chair or stretch out on the sofa. You may as well pull your warm, soft and fuzzy blanket over your head so as not to watch the repeated reels before you on your big screen. Inflation and pessimism abound. Mortgage interest rates have doubled since January, 2022. Over the past couple of years, the news was bleak and you let the words seep into your mind and envelope your soul. You may gasp or speak out loud against the events and tragedy of the day. Deep inside you know this is not your world. You realize you are blessed for the many positive people surrounding you and embrace the mutual love of your family and home. You are cherished. Layoff announcements continue as we appear to be exiting the long pandemic.
We reflect on how things 'used to be'. They are no more. Some of us can rationalize or accept life's circumstances and some of us still live in fear and anxiety. The reoccurrence of the illness remains worrisome to those with near death experiences or the loss of a loved one. Pessimism took a strong hold. People choose to see the worst in their peers...their family... Some believed the world was coming to an end. The lingering aftermath from shuttered businesses. The workforce loosing jobs. Offices shutting down. Landlords loss of income as they could not collect rent and pay their mortgages due to Federal Regulators changing guidelines for eviction protection. We are constantly engaged in flux. Our minds may fill with the negativity as the words take over and we give in to the dread. The voice from within may still tell us to stay inside where it is safe. OR, to decrease your circle of friends and family and limit the exposure to the outside world.
This is NOT how we were meant to live! Life is worth living. Giving of yourself and interacting with people while having dinner together and enjoying the different wine selection over a variety of foods. Playing sports games or riding a bike or going to the beach. Walking around the neighborhood. Fishing along the stream and wading in the cool waters. Building a sustainable family garden of herbs and fresh foods and flowers. Learning to play the piano. Attending weddings and baby showers. Reading a book and sharing the story in your book club. Going to church and singing out-of-key at the top of your lungs. This is the essence of life.
So. What can we do about our lives? How can we do better and change them to 'the way we were?" This a question one can ask of self. I know I have. Based on the many communications I have had over the past several years there does not appear to be a single solution. I remember it was April of 2020. I wanted to spend Mother's Day with the same family members at the same restaurant chain as we did for over a decade. One family member was traumatized at the thought of being together. How I would die after being exposed to other people. I was not afraid. I know others were afraid or at least cautious of the unknown. We enjoyed the outdoor temperatures around a fire in the backyard. A compromise was reached.
The conflicting information made some withdraw from others while some, like me, strove toward finding balance in a safe way. The evidence is muddy. The solutions are not of a simple nature. There are still options. There is faith and hope. There is peace and happiness. There are businesses succeeding and people paying their mortgages. Another occupation or starting a new business could be the silver lining in the once stormy cloud looming overhead. The time may be NOW to look at what you are in control of and turning the channel in the mind or on the set to one of more positive and enjoyable outcomes. This you can do.
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