ANYTHING WILL DO

Anyone alive today has gone through almost two years packed with uncertainty and confusion due to the COVID – 19 virus. The determining variables that control the course of the pandemic keep changing and we are all learning as we go along. Many are likely to develop “pandemic fatigue”- becoming less motivated to strictly follow the recommended safety guidelines.

Just when we thought that we had moved forward through a combination of full vaccination, masking up and physical distancing, a new variant- Omicron, of the Covid-19 virus shows up on 26^th November 2021.It is indeed very bad timing for all of us more so for those who celebrate the festive season. Many of us had started planning how to make the most of a difficult situation.

In my house, a grandson from Canada had confirmed his intention to join us for Christmas and the celebration of our mother’s 90^th birthday around the same time, so had a sister in Sweden and another in UK and my son from Cape Town. We last saw them at Christmas time in 2019! 

Recently, we have lived with so much death around us in our communities and worldwide. The unshared pain and loss have drained our empathy, leaving us in emotional turmoil. Celebrating Christmas with a few loved ones would have been some form of compensation to us. The restricted travel movements that followed the emergency of the new variant, have robbed us of this privilege. Our confidence has been shaken once more.

As of now all I have been telling myself is that I am still alive and one event in the year is not my whole life. “Anything will do for Christmas and New Year.”

No doubt, the two years of restricted travel movements and physical disconnectedness have given us time to ourselves. Time to take inventory of the things we have gathered over our lifetimes; people, networks of relationships and material things and how they have contributed to the stories of our lives. Such reflections help us to look beyond this pandemic and look out for rainbows of hope for a better future. Nothing lasts forever. Life’s small joys add up to a fulfilled life.

“You do not develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.”- Epicurus

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”- Mary Anne Radmacher.

I am now reminding myself to sing in the rain,

smile through tears

dance in the darkness

and to trust myself in the silence.

All that I am saying is that I am giving myself full permission to examine and rediscover with pleasure the people, the network of relationships and the material things that I have gathered around me over the years.

Not forgetting the many loved ones whom I have lost to COVID-19 and natural causes.

As John Lennon said, “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”

Here are some photographs from my collection to colour your life during this tough festive season.

QUESTION

Time will not stop. How are you planning to make the most of this relentless situation?

Thank you for following my Blog. I appreciate you greatly.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New year.

Sing with gusto for being alive, up and about.

May the good Lord guide us into a way of living with COVID-19 in our midst.