There are moments in time that change the world for those living in that particular space of time. Things like wars, depression, and pandemics, and here we are in 2020, again in one of those spaces of time, the world has been hit by a pandemic.
This has and is creating havoc for all, fear, uncertainty, apprehension. None of us like living with the unknowns, we have become creatures that like to control. We have also become creatures who exhibit a lot of self-interest and carry a great amount of entitlement. We became a society that has based ourselves largely on materialistic ideals, bigger, better, more, more, more.
I hear people talk about their rights and that the lock down’s happening are against their right, they want to shop, to buy whatever types of goods they want when they want. That’s a frightening thing for me, they say they are worried about businesses surviving, and that they don’t want anyone controlling what they can do and when. Yet when you peel back the layers that’s exactly what has happened, people were controlled without realizing it, big business, commercialism, brainwashed people into believing they needed things, had to have the latest greatest of this that, and the other thing. That we needed to buy the next greatest thing out for our kids because Sally’s parents down the street were making sure she had, they convinced us to climb onto this fast-moving conveyor and run to have more, that we no longer could sit and relax at home, we needed to shop at all hours of the day and night, all days of the week.
So truly now that there is a pandemic, and we are being told we can’t do those things ( totally unnecessary things), that keep people in debt, stressed, and only keep the big players making more and more money, people are are willing to or unable to see the very thing they are fighting ( being controlled), is the very thing that has happened.
Hearing people say things like Christmas will be ruined is most unbelievable, Christmas was never supposed to be about shopping, and scrambling and robbing people to have the best gifts under the tree. Hearing that just confirms to me how truly sad the state of being we as humans are in.
Wars, depressions, pandemics of the past, have shown us that in order for us to thrive we must first face adversity and change. We are in a great time of change. We are at a crossroads, are we willing to forgo the human element, do we care more about our right to indulge ourselves in commercialism, that we are willing to refuse to do what we know will help and protect ourselves and our families? Have we become the society that has placed such little value on human life? Have we lost the ability to do what we must for the greater good? Yes, some businesses will not survive others are thriving, new ones are finding their way, others are adapting to new ways. We don’t want anyone’s business to fail but we must not let commercialism take precedence over taking care and looking after our very beings. For if we fail to look after the people the businesses will not survive anyways.
I was on the same trajectory as everyone else, I rode the conveyor along with everyone, that is until my Dementia hit, it was like being swept away in a tsunami, being washed ashore in unfamiliar territory. Through that, I started to have to survive the multitude of losses, and they keep coming. But I have survived the many changes and challenges, and know as I walk through the uncharted time of walking through a pandemic, I know have a new uncertainty, trying to keep myself safe, knowing if things get really bad that I could be one of the ones if I get sick who end up being triaged and not getting the care because of my diagnosis.
Yet I don’t and can’t live with that fear, I have to look at doing all I can to stay safe, and in doing so it means I am also doing all I can to protect others. I am determined to come out the other end of the pandemic, and yes there will be an end just like war, depressions, and other pandemics there will be an end. I have to stay positive, I live alone, I have no one to help keep me calm, to help me destress, so I have to work hard at keeping myself in a good place mentally and as physically well as I can.
In past times, they did not have the ease of news any time of day or night, or the briefing by our public health, people heard through newspaper and through other people bringing the news from other areas and new what to do, and they did what they needed to do. It saddens me that we know have to be told and when told we want to create unrest over it, instead of pulling together and doing everything we can to help all get through this time.
This means I look to the future, and hope that as we move out of this we come out with a world that is less hurried, less about greed, more about helping, caring and making the world a brighter happier place. Where we place the value back on the human being instead of $$$, things and stuff. Where our elders are looked up to and everyone ensures they are looked after, where we can walk down our streets and around our neighbourhoods feeling safe and knowing our neighbours long before a catastrophe happens in our lives or theirs. Where we hold the door open for someone, where we are not to busy to stop and help.
Yes, those things still happen, we see people pull together to help, most of us have felt the kindness that can and does surface, but I hope after this pandemic it becomes the norm. I hope we go back to The small mom and pop businesses thriving, I’ve never liked big box stores. I hope as and when we come out of this pandemic knowing full well life will be forever changed because of it and because change is part of life, we see the human piece be the piece that super cedes all else.
Chrissy's Journey 