There's so much going on right now. People are stressed and in shock and depressed and trying to rally and in a daze because no one seems to really know what to do; you can't help but to notice this if you even open your Facebook app for less than a minute. Your community that is so important to you--they need you so much right now.
To which community am I referring?
Your community. Yours. Your people.
They may include friends, they may include family. They may include people from your religious organization, from your work. Your dogs are in your community, maybe. Mine certainly are.
YOUR people. Who are your people? Take a minute and think.
Those are the ones I'm talking about.
Those precious, precious people, who make us feel safe, who make us feel loved, who we trust. Those people who uplift us. Our family, blood and chosen.
So, pick yours, and be extra good to them.
What does that mean? I don't know, exactly.
I do know that liking a Facebook post makes people feel seen, however, what it does not do is give a feeling of connection. So I would like to urge you to connect. Pick up the phone and make a phone call. Make (and keep!) plans. Give a little gift to make someone feel special. Do something nice for somebody.
Captain Tightpants had a bunch of free parking passes to the Getty Museum that he'd sweet-talked someone into giving to him, and dropped by my work last week to give me one because he knew I was going the very next day. It was such a little thing. We probably only spoke for ten minutes or so, but it made me feel so very loved, and so important to him. This boosted my mood like you wouldn't believe. It also made me feel so connected to him.
Allow people to feel your love. Let them know how important they are to you.
I totally get that you're also feeling the burden and the stress right now and some days it's so hard to get out of your toasty bed, much less go to work with your clothes on properly. We all are feeling that way. I'm asking you to reach out to the people you already adore. It might seem like a lot, but a small kindness can go a long way. And it will make you feel better, too. This is a call to action, same as my last post which urged you to take care of yourself. I'm asking you to take care of your people, too. If we all take special care of ourselves, and our people, we all will be able to function better in these trying times.
Whatever you do, I am grateful.