Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe are words that have become something of a mantra to Canadians during this pandemic as we hear these wise words of British Columbia’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Each time we hear them, we offered hope instead of despair, faith instead of fear and calm instead of panic.
As I walked into the newly opened garden center this morning, I was greeted with the sight of these beautiful geraniums, row, after beautiful row of color, just exuberating joy. Tears rolled down my cheeks, I felt as though I had come out of a world of black and white during these weeks of the lockdown back into a magnificent world of techno color. Much like that moment in the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy steps out of Kansas into the Beautiful land of Oz.
It occurred to me at that moment, that we are all carrying a great weight on our shoulders with this pandemic. It is a weight of fear, darkness, frustration, and uncertainty. It also occurred to me that although we are all in the same pandemic, the same storm so to speak, we are not all in the same boat. Some of us are riding this out in luxury like a fancy yacht, other in a more modest motor boat, still others in a leaky canoe,and still others in no boat at all. Yet, for each of us our loss is the worst loss, and so we all are carrying a great weight.
The burden is not always obvious even to ourselves, thus we cry at pretty flowers as I did, maybe we snap at something small, or maybe we lose it altogether for a bit. Each of our loads is different, each of us naviagtes this from our own boat.
As we come to the end of National Mental Health Week, Dr. Henry’s words ring in my ears, Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe, to ourselves, to each other, to our communities and to the world.
Susy Giddy is a Certified Life Coach, one of her specialties is helping clients navigate challenging times. She can be reached at susy@cabaretelifecoaching.com