6 reasons to be thankful in these frightening times
The world seems dark and dangerous right now, but there is hope and comfort to be found.
Maybe you're stuck at home in solitary confinement, surviving your own version of Groundhog Day. Perhaps you will continue to work, with essential work that cannot be done remotely. You could be among the many unemployed people and try to find a way out of this nightmare. Whatever you are going on, the coronavirus novel has changed life as we know it.
As the days and weeks drag on, without a definite end to the pandemic in sight, it is easy to feel hopeless. Yet, between madness, there are small moments of peace and joy. If we look for it, there is still so much to be thankful for. And gratitude has a way of changing everything.
Here are just a few things to consider ...
COMMUNITIES ARE JOINING.
A common enemy brings people together, and this is the case where the global community faces this scourge. Celebrities are coming together to read stories and raise money to feed the children. The writer Simcha Fisher wrote a nice reflection on the beautiful and beautiful things that happened during this pandemic:
People help each other. Parents at home welcome the children of working parents; people drop the casseroles on the porches of the neighbors under quarantine; trucks and food restaurants are offering free food to children locked out of school lunch programs. People use social media to make matches between those who can move and those who can't, so nobody gets abandoned. Many electricity and water companies are suspending closure notices; the landowners forbid collecting the rent, while their tenants leave without wages; condominiums offer free accommodation to students stuck at the sudden closure of their universities; some Internet service providers offer a free service so that everyone can stay in touch; basketball players are donating part of the salary to pay the wages of the arena workers whose work has been interrupted; people are looking for hard-to-find foods for friends with restrictive diets. I have also seen private citizens offer to help pay rent to strangers, simply because there is a need.
In neighborhoods and families around the world, people are working hard to help each other, and it is touching and inspiring to give testimony.
MANY FAMILIES ARE SPENDING MORE TIME TOGETHER.
In the hustle and bustle of school, work, extracurricular activities and household chores, it can be difficult to find timeless lightheartedness as a family. Whether it's enjoying school in pajamas or playing board games in the afternoon "just because", many families appreciate this sudden extra time with each other.
GAME FOR FAMILIES
Obviously, arguments and struggles are inevitable, but even this can be an opportunity for solving problems and building communication skills (especially if you encourage your children to resolve their disagreements together!).
THERE IS MORE TIME FOR PRAYER.
Both because the pandemic presents a serious reason to turn to God in prayer, and because there is more free time in the day, prayer is at the center of many of those who stay at home. Nathan Schlueter suggests that families turn this time into a retreat, and it is intentional to pray together and draw closer to God. He writes,
Make this like a family retreat. This means that regular family prayer is at the center of your plan. We pray the Litany of St. Joseph every morning and the Rosary every evening, making each bead a special intention, for the sick, for health workers, for the homeless, for vocations, for the conversion of souls, etc. , etc.
This is a wonderful approach if you are at home instead of continuing to work. Thinking of this time as a "family retreat" is a positive way to reformulate isolation and an opportunity to grow in holiness together with the people you love most.
THERE IS TIME TO DEDICATE TO HOBBY.
I don't know about you, but my social media feeds have been inundated with pictures of family organization projects from friends and culinary masterpieces. Stuck at home, without a long commute or a calendar full of appointments, many people have the space in their day to undertake long cooking and baking projects (homemade yeast bread, anyone?), Deep cleaning, things to do and favorite hobbies.
PEOPLE TRY TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH OLD FRIENDS.
Friends I don't talk to from college, family living outside the state and my neighborhood friends are all reaching out on social media. We are controlling each other, we have "virtual game dates" with show-and-tell on FaceTime and my aunt is reading storybooks to my children on Zoom.
Even if it doesn't replace the connection in person, I am grateful for modern technology that allows you to talk and connect with people all over the world, without ever leaving home.
WE HAVE A NEW APPRECIATION FOR THE SMALL PLEASURES OF LIFE.
Laura Kelly Fannuci published this poem on Instagram that moved me to tears:
It is exactly the smallest things - "a boring Tuesday, a coffee with a friend" - that most of us miss most right now. I suspect that after this pandemic has passed and that things have returned to normal, we will have a new gratitude for these little joys instead of taking them for granted.
As we continue our self-isolation, I manage to get through difficult times by imagining what I can't wait to see when everything is over. Every summer, my neighborhood friends and I cook in the backyard. Children run in the grass, husbands equip the grill and my best friend makes her famous margaritas.
Normally I take these meetings for granted; we do it every summer, what's the big deal? But right now, thinking about these informal evenings is what is getting me through. When I can finally be with my friends again, enjoying a meal and relaxing and laughing and talking, I think I will be overwhelmed with gratitude.
That we never lose appreciation for the gift of these ordinary little things that we all miss so much right now.