Nay-Sayers & Go-Getters

I've called life surrounding this Covid-19 pandemic overwhelming. I think sometimes the "overwhelm" comes from certain things being SO much clearer, than they were before. I don't think it is a bad thing. I think the realization of it, is simply something we haven't been used to.

I would say that I EASILY have conversations with an average of 30 people a day. One of the things that has become a daily norm for me, is figuring out what motivates people. For the most part, people just aren't that transparent & not because they don't want to be, but...it takes courage to be transparent, UNLESS....your scared or nervous or uncomfortable.

Once our government leaders started making recommendations & we all started becoming more aware and educated about COVID-19, I noticed fear & uncertainty motivating behavior in a way that was foreign to me. Please know that my thoughts are my thoughts. They are without judgement. I have learned that God has made some of us "Nay-Sayers" & some of us "Go-Getters," because that is how His plan works. That does not always make it easy for one to understand the other & SOMETIMES....depending on the triggers and motivators, we can be both on different layers. What I saw, was how people (especially those I regularly interact with) handled fear, change, and uncertainty. In fact, I've been able to see how complete strangers react. I have been able to see how some basic reassurance on something unrelated can pull someone out of fear-motivated behavior.

What has become so clear to me is that people lean one way or the other. They search for fault and make excuses to justify behavior they can't understand right now OR they find a way and make a way...the move. Fear, change, & uncertainty motivates people differently. We HAVE to be there for each other. We have to KNOW that we are all doing our best. Some things make some of us scared beyond belief. Some of us are so covered up with something so foreign to us, that we are literally just reacting and doing our best to make it. Some of us know no other way except to find a way and make a way.

The most frustrating place for me in the beginning was the grocery store & not because they didn't have the things I needed. It was frustrating because I was witnessing a clash of the "Nay-Sayers" and the "Go-Getters." I overheard people judging people purchasing boxed meals. I observed as people made comments about people bringing their children with them. I watched as people looked sideways at people with full carts. There was plenty of good things to observe such as: comradery in the uncertain, conversation that was therapeutic between strangers, AMAZING customer service, and kind faces. All these good things did not take away the awareness of the other. It was present with the other.

In an effort to truly document these experiences; fear motivates or triggers people & uncertainty motivates different actions and reactions from people. One thing that I believe to be true, is it is authentically how they are feeling in that moment. The reactionary words may not be how they really feel, but the FEELING....the fear....the confusion, is REAL. Whatever it is, is not good or bad. It just is & we are ALL essential in getting to the other side of this and being there for each other.

I listened to a meditation today & the topic was ACCEPTANCE. When we respect each other enough to LET THEM BE WHO THEY ARE, we release ourselves and them to live and experience and just be. We are ALL struggling & wrestling & we are all in this together. Buck Up Baby & ACCEPT people for who they are, just how they are.

Quote from my Headspace app today. 

I LOVE Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/

I'm also happy to report that today was the MOST PLEASANT the grocery store has been in weeks. There was more people in there than what I've seen lately. There was also more food and necessary products. The entire mood was more positive.