I shudder at even typing the word but yet when I set aside all of the news media sensationalizing on this raging monster that has affected each and every breathing soul on this planet, I start to think about all that has changed. Has it all been bad? I think not!
When I leave my house now, on any given day, I am able to drive to wherever it is that I am going without any traffic issues. I have to believe that is having an enormous impact on the planet and all the emissions that are silently deadening this earth. I have to believe that road rage has decreased as people’s frustrations over another drivers’ ignorance has diminished. I have to believe that deaths by car accidents have decreased along with the wear and tear on everyone’s vehicles. Auto insurance rates should flatten over less people filing claims.
When I consider how employers always believed that an employee must work in an office without any regard on whether the job can be done at home more efficiently, I believe that most have passed the test. For introverts, this has been a huge win! When you consider the days ahead, I could see where companies could reduce their office space, thereby reducing their costs and increasing their profits. It could allow the extroverts, those that love constant social interacting to be present in the office while allowing the introverts to do their best work from the confines of their own home. This arrangement can open a lot of doors – especially for people who don’t want to live near their work. It also reduces stress on those sensitive souls that just don’t enjoy the rushing, driving, fluorescent lights, uncontrollable office temperatures and imploding energy that an office setting brings.
As a volunteer at the local animal shelter, I have witnessed the generosity of people’s hearts. Being confined to your home means you have more time to allow another beating heart in. I have seen where people have opened their hearts and their homes to foster or adopt an animal who would otherwise be locked behind bars all day. The shelter where I volunteer at always had no less than 450 dogs. This is only one shelter. Imagine the numbers if you added up all the shelters and rescues in the state of Georgia. Since Covid, the numbers dropped more than 50%! Fabulous! This not only means that dogs are at the shelter less time being stressed but that they do not have to face the horrors of being harshly euthanized. This shift in humans adopting or fostering animals instead of purchasing from puppy mills is incredible and I hope this trend spreads as fast as Covid.
A stickler for personal space anyway, it is now so pleasant to go into a store and see that the establishment now demands separation. No longer do you have that person standing behind you, so close that you can feel their breath on your neck and worse yet endure droplets of their spit hitting you because they are just too close. You can go out for a walk and not be expected to stop and chat to every passerby. In fact, you can even cross the road to avoid them without you looking like an anti-social person, even if you are.
Yes – I think we should stop and reflect on what Mother nature has imposed on us to make us settle down and take note – if nothing more than to always look for the silver lining in any situation.
