The Coronavirus didn't negatively affect me at first, my life actually got better – I was working less at my job and writing more.
Then came the killings; Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and Ahmaud Arbery come to mind. The world spun into a tumultuous storm of defiance. There were the protests and then protests of the protests.
Then my car was broken into. This caused me to experience another human violating me.
These events caused me to feel like I was slipping into what I refer to in my book, The Fork Trail Guide, as the Four D’s; disappointment, discouragment, disillusionment, and feeling distraught.
Then a wonderful thing happened, someone left a gift basket on my porch. This thoughtful person caused me to remember the good in the world. There are more people that do good than people that do bad!
The thief’s behavior was bad, but I don’t think of them as a bad person. Most likely they were on drugs, and I imagine they have a sad life story that has never been heard. Harper Lee wrote, “You never really know a man until you’ve walked in their shoes.”
The virus is not going to destroy us – what has the power to destroy us is our actions and reactions towards others.
To overcome the Four D’s, I have to change, I can’t wait for others to change. I also have to refocus. I talk in my book, The Fork Trail Guide, about Funnel Focus – this is where we look at life through a funnel and see very little of what is really true. Racist do this with others. I was doing it with life – both ways are not only negative but destructive.
Albert Einstein said, “Truth, goodness, and beauty have given me the courage to face life cheerfully.” The truth is we will find a cure for the virus or at least a way to contorl it.
We will cure racism when we see the truth of who people are. We do this by focusing on the good and the beauty in ourselves and in other people.
The world is full of goodness and beauty both in humans and nature. This is the truth I will focus on that will light my way.