I couldn’t get out of bed this morning. 

The sun was shining, and it seemed to be the first warm spring day in the mountains. I knew it was already late by the way the light was coming through the window.

But I knew I couldn’t do anything. I can’t hike. I can’t bike. I can’t meet my friends for a beer on a patio somewhere for happy hour with a view of the peaks. I guess I could, if I didn’t care about myself or others. Walking my dog, just enough for him to do his business is all I got right now, and even that feels risky. 

This is reality, and the only consolation is that I am not alone. 

Around the world, millions of people are feeling the same thing right now. The same longing to live, and the same grief for the life they were living until a month ago. Pandemic knows no mercy, and this is strangely comforting to me. 

We spend so much of our waking moments worried about what the next activity is going to be. We use the excuse of being busy to keep us from practicing self care, and then we turn around and use the excuse that we are ‘too tired” from working “too hard” to justify a nice dinner out with friends. We inundate our lives with tasks and goals, only to hate ourselves later when we fall short of what was unrealistic to begin with. We use social media to compare our lives to the successes of others, and we gauge our station in life on how we stack up. 

This culture of self-judgement is unsustainable. It is a spinning wheel that needs a wrench thrown in it. This pandemic is something to be taken seriously for the greater good, but also on a personal level. Take time to meditate. Use this opportunity to communicate with your family over video chats. Catch up with old friends the same way. Use your creativity to your advantage and discover a new hobby or talent. If you are struggling with loneliness, bravely question why that is. Take this moment in history and make it a turning point for your life. 

Right now we are in a suspended state of unknowns and the best thing we can do for each other is to stay at home. The faster we step up and take responsibility, the faster we can all get back to work and back to Happy Hours.

If you are feeling the desire to educate yourself, please stay away from social media. The worst thing we can do right now is spread misinformation, on top of spreading disease. Check out this resource of FAQ’s directly from the CDC for more information.