Are You Proud Of Your Last Four Months?

We've all had to reverse switch our lifestyles since shelter-in-place commenced mid March: By working from home, being laid off, signing for unemployment, losing businesses, saying distanced goodbyes to loved ones, protesting, social distancing rules forever being adapted to, creating new innovations, sitting in pajamas for more than we'd like, pushed to the limit from saving lives... That list continues.

But one day, changes will take place. Life will return back to what we are familiar with and within a few days, our natural instincts to slip back into old routines will shadow the past 120+ days. If you were probed this question 'You have over four months off from your standard daily life, what would you achieve in that time?' most people would consider dramatic feats as a go-to mission i.e. learning a new language, finally redecorating your home, traveling to remote countries, philanthropic achievements that would feed your soul. Not one person would say 'I sat on the couch, wearing bed socks, and binged on Netflix.'

Yet there was no real warning with Covid-19. So the idea of breaking away from the norm and trying something newly premeditated flew out the window. Wallowing in self pity was the first upheaval stage, followed by financial stress and worries, leading towards varying levels of frustration, step stoned by anger and retaliation, sprinkled with resentment and twitching to get back to regular daily life with 'enough is enough, I'm SO over this virus.' This is another list that appears to be evolving.

Throughout the Covid-19 duration, SF CARES has blogged about the multitude of organizations and individuals that grabbed the reigns and ran with producing something new and good to help others. These spiritually lifting goals greatly helped the ones that stepped up because they simply felt valuable, useful and productive. Helping others, while completely discarding a solitary selfish motive, is the greatest reward. It's an honest day or few hours of work. It's a change from the regular routine and it makes everyone feel fulfilled.

The pandemic may take weeks, months or years to dissipate, or it may be a divine test that we've all been faced, and vanish just as quickly as it arrived.

So ask yourself this: What can I do today to make changes for the better? How can I help the needy who are greatly suffering today? How can I aid the poverty that will appreciate my support?  Ultimately, what am I going to do right here and now, so I can later claim a milestone I'm truly proud of?