we are a few weeks into this global pandemic and i am feeling all the feels. some days are wonderful; i find the time to catch up on rest, pick up a good book, bang away on the cajon my brother made me or crush on lebron james (seriously, God should have made him a twin!), and other days, not so much. not being able to see (and hug!) my friends, fighting boredom/trying to feel inspired enough to get some work done and not being able to go to the gym have proven to be my biggest trials, but like anything in life, there are things we can learn and things we can celebrate. below are some of these things.

i feel more connected than ever before.

i started a document on my computer titled "taken care of in quarantine" (i'm not actually in quarantine, but it sounds cooler than 'while social distancing'.) each day, i write how i saw God or others take care of me and the names of all the people who checked in with my by way of phone, facetime or text, and i find myself being blown away every single day. of course, i check in with people, too, and they're just as grateful. global pandemic or not, let's keep this up. we were never meant to live life alone.

COVID cultivates:

creativity: my buddy invited me to a games' day on zoom last saturday with his young adults group and it was a blast, a coworker of mine started 'virtual' lunches to make it feel like we're all at the office, and my supervisor, knowing i was feeling rather lonely last week, made plans to drive in from burlington to go for a walk with me (six feet apart, of course.) churches and businesses alike are learning how to reach people online and others are finding creative outlets (check out john krasinki's new show, "some good news" on youtube - it's my fave!) in times like these, creativity abounds.

and so does compassion: many people have expressed concern for me that i live 'alone' and check in with me accordingly (i do have two roommates, one of whom i don't get along with and the other who is in her room 95% of the time due to recent surgeries), and i am over here thinking about my friends who are forced to balance trying to get work done from home with making sure their children are being taught things their teacher usually takes care of, which is no easy task! (i tried to help my friend with her son's grade five math homework once and i was lost. what happened to jimmy had two fish and susie had six - how many fish did they have?)

but seriously, my heart goes out to you and those of you whose homes aren't conflict-free or safe. being home a lot more can be a dream for some and a nightmare for others.

on a 'bigger' scale, social justice advocates have been partnering with the city of toronto and working diligently to make sure that those who are struggling with homelessness are being taken care of. there are improvements to be made here, of course, but it's a start; one i pray only grows from here.

another positive thing i have seen during this time is society's ability to appreciate those who normally get overlooked.

doctors and nurses alike are being elevated in a time like this (as they should!), but so are grocery clerks and cashiers. standing behind pexiglass walls, they risk catching this invisible disease more than most do so that we can eat, and i think that's commendable. (truth be told, if i were them i would probably quit, which is one reason that i'm glad not everyone is like me.)

my mom was a cashier for most of her adult life, and i (and all of alliston) can tell you , on a normal day, she brightened many, many days. the truth is, during a pandemic or not, every job has its value, so let's continue to re-evaluate our view of success and not forget all of this when we all go back to work one day.

COVID, as you can see, is cultivating many, many good things.

but it also cultivates anxiety and panic.

i think the scariest thing about all of this (other than the fact that people are dying at a rapid rate) is that you can be a carrier of it and still symptom free. you can touch a gas pump and then your face and risk catching it, step foot on a bus and get coughed on, or pick up a box of cereal at the grocery store and and catch it or spread it without even knowing it. that freaks me out. like i have never washed my hands so much in my life, nor have i ever felt as physically anxious as i have the past few days. my heart is racing just writing this - maybe yours is reading it, too - so i will stop right here for both of us.

my point is, there are very crappy, scary and painful things that we shouldn't ignore during a time like this and that's our reality, but there are also good things we can focus on, too; hopefully i've been able to help you with the latter today.

stay safe and connected, everyone.