In this time of the Coronavirus pandemic, many people are anxious and afraid. Street interviews with people on TV news revealed that they were freely admitting that they were scared to be out there, both men and women, old and young.
Being scared doesn’t mean you don’t have courage. The people who get up and go to the shops for supplies are showing courage despite their fear. And of course doctors, nurses and health workers are showing another level of courage and caring.
But despite the fear and sadness, we should not lose sight of the future beyond this pandemic. There is life again afterwards. There will be fun and happiness, running and jumping and picnics and walks. Yes, it’s coming!
Life is usually waves of joy, sadness, joy again. Tragedy hits unexpectedly, we weep and are heavy hearted, but it lifts and we see the sun again, and life regains it’s colour and our hearts their lightness.
My Grandmother was pregnant when the 1918 to 1920 Spanish flu pandemic hit her community, and she gave birth to my Dad in 1919 at a chaotic time when the hospitals and staff were overwhelmed with the sick. My Dad was premature and was put in a shoebox because the nurses thought he was dead, a flu baby. But he wasn’t, and was noticed by a nurse, and he lived to get married, to have me, as a son, and three daughters. He had a happy married life, and our house was always filled with laughter and fun times. We had grandparents and lots of uncles and aunties that used to visit and good times were had. My childhood was one of the best, and I always look back on it with fond memories.
You see how tragedy, chaos, anxiety and fear melt away and are forgotten? And the sadness and hardship of this time will also disappear like the morning mist, and in that glorious new day will you think of the mist that was? I think not! And this is the thing: the bad times will pass. The good times will return. Not only that, but because of the hard times that people have endured, the world will be a gentler, better place.
So don’t despair! Don’t give up. It’s dark, yes. But dawn is coming. It’s sad, yes. But joy is bubbling up underneath. As we focus on all the terrible things happening, we miss the butterfly going past. We don’t see the fresh, new green leaves budding, prophesying of new life and new growth happening under our noses. Look around you, like a panner looking in his pan full of gravel for that glint of gold, and you’ll find the good and the beautiful all around you. Listen to the birds singing outside. In your apartment blocks, listen to the murmuring sounds of people moving about, talking, clattering dishes – all signs of life! Life that will soon burst out into the wide world again, showering us with noise and activity, fun and excitement! And quiet cups of tea with a book in the shade of a tree. Don’t be sad, be patient.
If you have been thinking of taking your life. Please don’t leave us. We are all the people you are going to help in the future, who you are going to be kind to. You are precious and needed. We need you. You can make a difference in this world just by one act of kindness to a hurting person, like you are hurting now. You are not alone in this. Stay with us and spread the virus of kindness, which is very infectious. Let that be your mission, and let nothing stop you doing it. You’ll see how your gloom will vanish!
So let’s all endure this time of having courage and perseverance for a little while longer. Be ready for the brilliant dawn that is surely coming!
For beauiful, encouraging, scenic photography, browse through my images of the coast and countryside of South Africa, please click here: https://www.shutterstock.com/g/Duncan+Kelly?rid=244447694&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ctrbreferral-link
By Duncan Kelly