In many ways, I had thought the pandemic was the perfect time for people to latch onto what I do- sharing inspiration and hope. While many people posted their negative thoughts about what we were enduring, I held steady and kept posting my sunny, colorful photos.
I also thought it time I resurrect my suicide grief and prevention work, another way to offer hope and inspiration to people, as many people felt hopeless with our world and ways in question.
And I thought it was a good time to remind people about my books as I kept hearing people were reading more because they had more time on their hands.
None of it went very far.
It turned into a very frustrating time for me in the aspect that I wanted to help, I wanted to be a beacon of light in some way, yet I was getting drown out by the negative. People were caught up in feeling sorry for themselves, in not taking care of themselves, instead of taking the time as an opportunity to make themselves better, to do things they hadn’t done in a long time (or had never done). And some people did do positive things, but when then negative is drowning out the positive, it’s hard to see the good that’s happening.
I didn’t stop with my positive posts though, partly because I learned a long time ago that when I post positive things, I feel better.
While the world still feels somewhat flipped on its side– mostly because people are choosing that through their words and actions although we and the world have also changed in this time– I am finding people seem more receptive to drowning out the negative. That, at least, is a good sign. I’m just sorry so many people ignored the good that was right there waiting for them in this past year and a half. The positive is always there though you must train yourself to hold onto it because the negative is always running after you, trying to catch you.
Life is much too short– where did the last year go?– embrace the positive and all that it offers.