The world is losing its collective mind.
Some think it’s an overreaction and are going about their daily lives.
Some are self-quarantining and laying low, hunkering down for the unknown.
We as individuals can’t control what others do. We can’t make them stay home. We can’t keep them from taking their kids to playspaces like it’s any other day. I know it’s frustrating. I know it’s maddening. I feel it too. I’m straddling the line between staying cool as a cucumber and freaking out at any given moment.
Schools are closed here indefinitely.
All professional sports, theatre and other entertainment is canceled.
Grocery stores have changed their hours to close earlier and recoup from the frenzy that happens each day when they open their doors and people rush in to buy whatever they can.
Restaurants have started offering delivery and take-out options to drive more business however they can.
We are already seeing curfews enforced in some places and that’s bound to widen in scope.
Travel is being restricted in some areas.
Businesses are having their people work remotely.
The list of changes and repercussions is only growing and despite what you want to believe this is a serious situation. If you think otherwise, please give me whatever you are taking to be in this altered state.
And I can’t speak for others, but here’s what I think and I say this from a place of compassion because I see people close to me being impacted in severe ways and I can’t keep my mouth shut (never been my strong suit).
I am not a fan of censoring anyone on social media. I, of all people, am guilty of oversharing on the regular.
But some of you have lost your compassion and it hurts my heart.
Before you throw posts up about how upset you are about canceling your trip to Disney, or the Caribbean, or the mountains, or your cruise, please have some perspective. I know it sucks. We are all losing money on things we booked or planned. Like a lot of money and time we planned to share wonderful experiences with our families. I get it. I really do.
But you know what else I get?
That there are people who have lost their jobs this week and the hits are still coming. People who now have no source of income and have to figure out a way to stock up on supplies they can’t even get their hands on. People who have far bigger stress than a fast pass to Splash Mountain or a weekend sipping beverages poolside at a fancy resort.
This sucks for all of us in a variety of ways. And it’s not that we can’t be upset for our respective “losses”. We absolutely can. But the fact is that we are in uncharted territory and nobody really knows what to do or what to expect. And I’m not telling you what to post or not post. I’m not the social media police. All I’m asking is that you think twice.
Think twice before you lament over your luxury vacation being sacked.
Think twice since there are medical professionals who have no choice but to be exposed every day and many are even lacking supplies because of people hoarding masks and other items.
Think twice since people in the service industry are losing jobs left and right and their employers hands are tied.
Think twice because there are parents home with medically fragile kids and they are petrified and possibly unequipped because of supply shortages.
Think twice because there are family members in nursing homes who can no longer have visitors and will feel the isolation tenfold.
Think twice because there are people living in other states who can’t even get to their family members who may need help prepping for all that may happen in the coming months.
So please, keep the levity going. We all need it especially now. But just think twice and remember than while it sucks to cancel something like a vacation and lose money, there are people out there who are having their entire livelihood changed in the blink of an eye.
Stay safe. Stay positive. Stay compassionate. We will get through this but in the meantime, think twice. ❤️????????
