Hello everyone! Before I start with my reason for writing this post I just wanted to say that I hope you are all safe and doing what you need to be doing to stop the spread of COVID-19. Be strong and know we WILL overcome this.
So I was sequestered in my condo at the beginning of March last year with the start of the Canadian Pandemic shut down. I mean, there was this one month last year in a period called "Summer" where I was able to work from the office. And for a good chunk of this year I have been home...working...eating....sleeping....working....eating while sleeping....I know! The "lather, rinse, repeat" syndrome. Almost like Bill Murray's Ground Hog Day with the exception of wearing different clothes almost every day. Yeah, I did say almost every single day. Did you know you can turn them inside out? Boy do you ever feel good in clean clothes.
I do get everyone's frustration. I don't like wearing masks either. I feel that if this was a trend prior to the pandemic we would have been wearing them a long time ago. My point is simply this. I don't live out of fear of catching the virus more than I respect Mother Nature's ability to throw us curve balls the only way she knows how. Look through the ages. There was the black plague with black oozing pustules. The 1917 pandemic where you got exposed to it one day, exhibited symptoms the next, and was dead 2 days later. Those diseases sounded scary! But my thoughts about this are simple. People that advocate based on conspiracy theories with no science to back them up are only selling themselves short. If there was a pandemic of Ebola running through our communities, how many people would shutter themselves in and yell at all the people that weren't doing the same? I mean, wouldn't it be terrifying if there was a virus waltzing through our communities that made blood ooze from.....well, you get the picture.
I remember a time when I could find things. I mean really find things. And not just somethings. EVERYTHING! My keys. My phone. My socks. My pants. My paper towel stockpile. I was literally walking into a room seven times only to forget why the f&@k I was walking into that room in the first place. And for those that know me, yeah, I know I am 51. But I didn't do this before this chaos hit.
We are the masters of our own reality. After the first couple of months of the shutdown I started to go out on my balcony and started to yell at everyone to get off my lawn as a joke. And you know what? I made a ton of friends during this time of social distancing. The young family down the hall from me. The "not that old" ladies from across the complex. And the senior couple that would wave to me every time I walked by. When the restrictions lifted a bit we had a happy hour once a week. We would sit on the lawn in our chairs having a few drinks and just enjoyed each other's company. One of the "not so old" ladies said she was going to lay a blanket down on the front lawn whenever I was out for my morning jog. And when I moved last fall, all my new friends threw me a "Going Away" happy hour with food and drink, and all socially distanced. I even got invited back after I moved. I am a blessed man for meeting all of these amazing people.
My point is simply this. We are all frustrated. I get it. Its not easy for anyone to have to live through any of this. People have lost their jobs. Business have closed. My heart was broken not to have a Canadian football season where I did my best yelling....all positive of course. It has affected everyone. And even with this virus only affecting a certain percentage of the population, it is absolutely everyone's duty to the vulnerable to do what they can to protect them. Doing anything less is selfish. One death from COVID is too many. I don't want my parents to catch this virus. I don't want to catch this virus. And I certainly don't want to give it to anyone else. And it isn't fake! I don't believe there is a one world order forming and that all the countries in the world are plugged into this. And I certainly don't think the government is putting microchips into the Pfizer vaccine I received 2 weeks ago. It has really been a bizarre time for the human condition.
So why don't we all collectively help each other out? Why does there have to be so many conspiracy theories of control out there? Why isn't anyone protesting the big tech companies that are stockpiling our information and sending us down the algorithmic rabbit holes that some of us are finding ourselves in? I mean come on! Since I turned 51 and armed with a single status on Facebook, I have been getting bombarded with erectile dysfunction ads along with senior dating applications ads. And why doesn't Facebook know that I am a fit man that eats well and has no dysfunction whatsoever? Do they not see my food porn photos along with my workout photos? (And the lovely comments do make me smile) Does Facebook not realize how handsome I really am? Right? That, to me, is the biggest conspiracy. Long story short, we are dealing with people's belief systems dovetailed with their subconscious bias that gets amplified when filled with information being pulled from the InterWeb. And from my NLP experiences, we cannot argue or debate with someone that believes what they feel is true to them. That's why I choose not to argue with them.
The human condition can be a mystery sometimes. I really and honestly believe that if we respected one another enough to put on that mask, wash their hands regularly and get vaccinated, we could get through this sooner. If we can land robots on Mars, invent super computers, and cars that park themselves, why can't we just do what we have to do to get through this? Man, do I ever miss going to football games and being able to travel across the country to sit and have a beer with my dad. We should all find our reasons for this chaos to end.
Be safe everyone!
