It Could Be Worse

10 Things to Be Grateful For During the 2020 Pandemic

The sun continues to stream through windows and illuminate tiny dust particles in the air as though they were each choreographed ballerinas.
I still have limbs to swoosh those particles.
I can still dance to Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby while self-isolating in my home. (Or anything else I want to thanks to a shared Apple Music account. And…it doesn’t skip when I dance too close to the device!)
We live in a world of abundance. I have food, water, wine and a little bit of good chocolate in the cupboard. I have kale growing in the garden and I know which weeds and wild plants are tasty and nutrient rich when the begin popping up in the next little while. Some people even say sungazing fills them.
I know how to sit quietly and day-dream or meditate, or imagine, or notice. From stillness creativity sprouts and strains. I feel lucky to have time for stillness.
Each day is a gift. I don’t usually plan them when things are quiet but I could. Choice still exists.
I have noticed that creatives are making beautiful offerings available online for everyone. There are free courses, free concerts, free comedy, and who needs to laugh right now? You and me, baby. I am grateful I have the ability to watch them. I say thank-you at the end because I’m a good Canadian who was raised right, eh. I love my parents.
Speaking of parents, mine are over 80. I know how lucky I am to have had both of them in my life for all of these years. I’m calling and texting the people I love often right now. I have time to do that. It’s nice to be in closer touch again.
Coffee. I can not overstate how grateful I am for my morning cuppa. I can make a really great cup of coffee in my home and that routine, so dear to me, does not need to change. I just have more time to enjoy it every day. No errands to run. Appointments are cancelled. All those pressing things that I feel I must do, even taxes, are on hold. That’s a pretty great upside. One that might stick to my ribs a bit.
Our Canadian Prime Minister, despite what some might say, is a compassionate human being. Money is being released to help people get through this. Billions. I’m not sure where those billions were before this; its a bit like the magical and mysterious journey of salmon, but they are here now, those billions, and they will be needed by 99% of the population. I’m pretty sure the other 1% are on some tropical deserted island they own sipping pink umbrellaed drinks tsk tsking, but that’s normal. I’m so very, very grateful that our Prime Minister is not named Trump .

“By opening to the world as it is, we may discover that gentleness, decency, and bravery are available to us and to all human beings.”
Margaret J Wheatley