‘Tis the season to be stalwart = resolute and valiant. We cannot count on knowing anything for sure, how we will be, how those we love will be. Many of us will perhaps try to recreate the essence of our December holiday celebrations knowing all the while that naming the essence this year maybe the hardest part.
We can be the adults in our collective lives who are able to grit our teeth and carry on through good and bad with firmness of mind and unyielding courage. In so doing we’ll find the inner resources to go beyond family and friends to help those in our communities who have been so hard hit. Maybe beyond the wonderful sentiment of love thy neighbor it could become more of a ‘let’s let that love be putting our shoulders to the wheels in our communities to make things better for those we don’t even know. We can staying home, wearing a mask. We can pitch in desperately needed money, food and heat, and can put our hands to work even though our hearts and minds ache to have it all go away. If you have been already hard hit, tell someone about that and tell what you need. Don’t be afraid to cry, you’ve earned our gratitude, devotion and support as you have been going on every day with that unyielding courage. Surviving all this will one day be a badge of honor and we will cherish what we did to make life work for others and ourselves in our darkest hour.
Wishing you strength and power, Jeannie.
This is what we all need to hear, Jeannie. Let’s remember all the people (including us) who have faced hard times and crises with courage and honor their examples with our own.