Welcome to Gentle Reminders, a podcast where we accept that life is squishy and different from day to day. I know recently, for a lot of us, the day to day hasn’t been that different as we’ve been working together to flatten the curve and keep each other safe. While Gentle Reminders is not a place for politics or news, it has always been a place where we unabashedly confront the realities of the world, even if it’s uncomfortable. I know you’ve been hearing a lot of the same news. I know you’ve been doing your best to find refuge in your comforts. I want to say thank you for your efforts and I hope that Gentle Reminders is a place that you find contentment. COVID-19 has impacted the world and I intend to use this podcast as a platform to remind us of our shared experience during this time and that positive things are happening and will continue to happen.
In that vein, today’s quote is from Michelle Obama, an American lawyer and author who was the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. My impression of Michelle, from her speeches and writings, is that she is thoughtful and measured, with her messages conveying empathy for others. Today’s quote reads:
“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.”
What I’d like to focus on today is hope. While we’re all having the collective trauma of COVID-19, each of us is experiencing it differently and what will bring us hope is individual. What we need to remember is that HOPE IS THERE, regardless of what it looks like for you and your loved ones.
The quote is a powerful reminder of the opportunities each of us has to cultivate hope and encourage others to be hopeful. Here are three ways that you can encourage hope within others:
- Connect with yourself.
- Connect with your loved ones.
- Connect with your community.
Connect With Yourself
During this time, we are all going through emotional, physical and mental stress. Some of us more than others at times. The waves hit differently for everyone and it can range from gentle, rolling waves that gently lap the sand or large tsunamis. Each of us has our coping mechanisms and I would like you to consider remembering the resiliency you had before. What did you do to cope? Were those coping skills helpful or hindering to you? What about to your loved ones? While we have the opportunity, there is a chance to remember spirit. To remember that being gentle with yourself, spending time doing activities that help your spirit to connect, is one thing you can do move through this experience.
Connect With Your Loved Ones
Another thing you can do is connect with your loved ones. Pour love into those living beings, living things that you adore. You may call your loved ones family or friends. I’m not being terribly prescriptive here because I know love can go to many people. To pets or house plants. Maybe I really mean connect with other living things. During this time, maybe you’re taking more time to tend to your houseplants or pets. That’s cool, it’s fun to watch pets be silly and play or to discover new growth on what you thought was a dying houseplant. Taking that time to nourish those connections is nurturing for you and the recipient of your love. Planning to engage with your loved ones provides you with opportunities to look forward – look forward to seeing each other again, look forward to seeing new blooms, look forward to watching growth, maybe looking forward to seeing the dog finally nail that new trick. What I would like you to consider is being careful of tending to relationships that may not be serving you, as during this time you may feel guilty about not having checked in on someone. You may feel that they are alone and you want them to feel something different. Please remember that nurturing those relationships may require stronger boundaries during this time. It may require you to withdraw a bit. It may cause you to make up stories if your loved ones aren’t connecting with you. Please remember that we’re all dealing right now and if you miss someone and it’s health/safe to do so, reach out. You won’t regret that.
Connect With Your Community
Branching out from your loved ones is those who live directly around you. We have not lived in tribal community where your family is very close. So we live by strangers, strangers who, in solidarity, are hopefully staying inside. However, I’ve found myself thinking about how to link together with our community selves. Learning where our strengths may be of value within our found space and to our neighbours. There are people in your community who are not fortunate enough to have internet. The digital lack in some places is very real and my heart goes out to those without a phone or internet right now. I hope those folks are okay. I have also been thinking about how our communities have come together during this time, stretching and adjusting to a new normal, to a new reality. One way I’ve found to connect safely without any technology is to smile and wave at folks on your walks or if you’re tending to your garden and someone toddles by. The world is scary right now. People need those tiny moments of kindness and I know you are capable of giving it.
That’s the three opportunities for you to bring hope into this world, especially as relaunch and further strategies bounce around. As Michelle said, hope is contagious, so I invite you to consider the three gentle reminders to help spread hope:
- Connect with yourself.
- Connect with your loved ones.
- Connect with your community.
Wrap up:
Thank you all for being here with me today and I invite you to keep the conversation going. I love to hear from you!
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