Two weeks ago, I was at work. People were smiling at me from across the dining room, waiving with their elbows. It was funny. At its worst moments, I had customers asking me if this virus thing was hurting our business. March is a tough month for my industry, and there are a lot of things that make that so, this is something that could end up killing my industry. And people - lot of them. I don't want to panic, but certainly we all see the need to be concerned here overall - and not just for any of our own interests. We're all in this together, and we all need one another so much more than we often act like we do - or even give value to. If this thing doesn't wake us up to that statement enough to do the better for one another that we need to be doing on the regular, then I doubt it will be the virus that dooms us.
There's some humor around, but it's clouded by the serious thoughts of this situation - in the span of a few weeks, what was once a virus in a far off land is now like the scene in Monty Python & The Holy Grail, where the guy was running towards the castle from hundreds of yards off. Each time the guards, one of which was eating an apple, looked at the approaching danger it was too far off to be alarmed. And then the intruder was on them, shoving a sword into the mid section of one of the guards and rushing into the castle past the other, who simply said, "Hey..."
Yeah, it's a bit like that. Less than a month ago we were at work. I doubt that many of us thought we'd be here now. There may have been some concern that if things got worse, we were ill prepared for such things in terms of medical facilities, supplies and personnel. Who would've thought that the concern over having enough stock clerks and cashiers would also become essential?
Like many others, I'm worried - and far beyond my own concerns. This is global. All of us on this one planet, each of us having but this one earthly journey. I read something about anticipatory grief this morning, which is basically imagining the future and the worst case scenario. Maybe anticipatory grief may well be a trait of human nature out of reaction when we get bad news - or rumors of it. My grandmother used to have a saying: Don't borrow trouble.
In today's climate, it's pretty tough not to borrow trouble. I don't want to rant political here. Rants don't usually age well. At the same time, it's hard not to get upset about things during these trying times. So I'll do something that shines light on something very heartwarming and wonderful and at a time when we need that kind of thing more than we ever have:
This morning a friend of mine posted something wonderful on her Facebook page. She got out of the house and while driving down her street, she passed a neighbor's house that had a table out front of it. On the table were various food items - including toilet paper, all set out for anyone who needed it. Can we all just take a minute to think about how wonderful that is at a time like this? Because it is.
Every time I go to the grocery store, the vibe is a bit worse than the previous time. The only thing I've come to expect staying the same, is that there's no toilet paper, sanitizer or disinfecting wipes. I've seen shelves with more on them at stores that have been running going out of business liquidation sales. Weeks ago, someone pulled up beside me at the grocery store in an Audi Q5. I thought to myself, "Man, I want a car like that." - last night every time someone walked by me wearing a mask, not unlike the disposable ones I wore & discarded regularly at a job I worked years ago, I thought "Man, I want a mask - now!"
So here is what my friend drove by, today - a day where things have gotten a bit worse and may still get worse before they get any better - please just look at this and think of the mindset of the person who put this in front of their house - for me, it's the best thing I'll see all day - maybe even all week.
CRO
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