Did You Ever Imagine?

A worldwide pandemic.

That is what we have all been through together. The whole world. That still amazes me.

Did You Ever Imagine?

We know that people have had varied experiences during this massive upheaval of our lives. Yet all of us experienced the pandemic at the same time. We are going through the recovery at the same time. That fact fascinates me. I think of future generations and the stories we will tell.

Remember the beginning? Shock. Fear. Confusion. Finally, acceptance that we had to stay home. (The resistance to that didn’t start right away.)

The years before the pandemic sent us into turmoil too.

The Women’s Marches around the world at the beginning of 2017, a response to 2016 elections, signaled change.

In 2019, Rose McGowan accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her in 1997. As other victims came forward, the #MeToo movement started by Tarana Burke in 2006 took off.

Survivors came forward to share their stories of being raped and sexually abused. When victims of Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell saw these predators sent to prison, they could feel some bit of justice. People are finally believing the victims. This is huge. I feel hope.

ALL OF US witnessed the murder of George Floyd. We saw it. Together. As a world, as a nation. We felt the horror of his murder. Many of us felt shame that we were still not further along in the fight against racism. We shared feelings through protests and social media. His murderer, a white man, was sentenced and sent to prison. We are waking up and speaking out against racism. Not all of us, but more than the “before times.” I hear hope in those outspoken voices.

There is always Hope.

The reason I am telling you things you already know is this: I want to remind you that anything is possible. Look at the changes during the last few years. We have seen such ugliness but we have also seen love and support. In that, I see hope.

Think about this: Did you ever imagine that the entire world could shut down? That everything could come to a screeching halt like it did? Did you ever picture wearing masks, sometimes even in your own home, not being able to travel, and attending school and going to work in the other room?

Could you have foreseen sports, ALL SPORTS, stopping?

If that can happen, if huge things formerly seen as immovable and unchangeable can stop and change everything we do, the way we do it---- why can’t you? I mean personally.

Remember at the beginning of the Covid experience when people were encouraged to pursue hobbies, learn recipes, learn a language, write an opera (!) and so on? I couldn’t even write for six months, and I still didn’t cook. But maybe that’s ok. Maybe we weren’t supposed to do any of those things. Maybe we were just supposed to observe and realize. We needed to look at the state of the world, and perhaps the state of our own worlds. Maybe for each of us, there was a personal lesson. Maybe the lesson is a question.

What do I want my life to look like going forward?

The deaths from Covid and our own personal emergencies remind us that we only have right now. We need to think about that more often.

Are you living as if today doesn’t matter? Today does matter, big time.

Think about this. Every minute of every single day, you make choices. Choose good stuff.

IS IT Time to Change Anything?

• If you feel unhappy, stop and ask yourself what is going on. Your inner self knows what you need to do. That unhappiness is a signal. Listen. Pay attention. Decide what you can change and what you have to accept. Then change what is making you unhappy.

• Look at your actions with love and honesty. Are you choosing not to change but disguising it with excuses? Are you blaming time or money constraints when that isn’t really the truth? Are you getting something out of not changing? Think about that.

• Make a fresh start. You could start changing your life today. That is so exciting! If the world, an entire world can shut down, if people’s minds can begin to change,(And many have for the good!) what else is possible? What is possible for you?

If you take care of each day, the future will take care of itself. Each day, live your best life. Take care of your health, your money, your passions and your loves.

You may not have a tomorrow, but what if you do? What if you do?

Thoughts and comments always welcome!!!! Scroll way down to comment.

NOTE: If you would like ideas about how to begin healthy changes, fifteen minutes at a time, take a look at this list I made many years ago. It has helped hundreds of people. https://www.dianafletcher.com/post/fit-healthy-15-minutes-at-a-time

For more information on the #MeToo movement including a TON of resources for survivors: https://metoomvmt.org/

#RoseMcGowan #HarveyWeinstein #choices #rape #sexualassault #pandemic #DianaFletcher #billCosby #GhislaineMaxwell #JeffreyEpstein #Pedophiles #childrapists #sexualassault #metoo #themetoomovement #TaranaBurke #Covid19 #covid #EknathEaswaran #healthy #health #changes #healthyactions #coviddeaths #entireworld #connections #support #heroes #feminists #feminism #womensmarches #Womensmarch #2016Election #humantrafficking #pedophileisland #pediisland #LiveinthePresent #GeorgeFloyd #murder #may25 #SayTheirNames #BlackLivesMatter #victimblaming #survivors #traffickers #racism #racist #BLM #masks #travelban #2020 #Excuses #goals #Freshstarts #antiracism #100HealthyActions #Action #results #rapeculture #hobbies #writing #amwriting #PittsburghWomensMarch #unhappy #happiness #stressReducing #StressReducingexpert #ReduceYourStress #vulnerable