Focus on the positive in the new “normal”
Reading Between the Pines
By Stacie Chadwick
As I sit down to write this column, I feel like I’m living in some kind of space-time continuum that’s on overdrive. Bad news hits my brain at such high speed that it’s in fifth gear trying to process things that are happening too quickly for me to absorb. What was once an everyday landscape suddenly feels foreign. The world as I know it is changing by the minute, seemingly spinning off its axis and barreling toward an unknown abyss.
And yet, increasingly as days go by, glowing points of light push their way through the darkness. By making small choices to do good, ordinary people are accomplishing extraordinary things. An admirable stubbornness exists in these seemingly small decisions that is powerful beyond measure and speaks to the great reservoir of kindness that permeates the human spirit.
As examples, there’s the florist in The Village at Castle Pines, who, faced with dwindling orders, delivered all of her excess flowers to local nursing homes. Grocery store employees greet customers hour after hour and day by day, putting themselves front and center with the public at-large so that we can grab what we need and go back home. And there is an ever-growing group of countless, unnamed caregivers looking after the elderly and immunocompromised by offering to shop and cook for them.
There is a lot of negativity in our lives right now. Businesses have been shuttered, jobs lost, families are stressed, and the unknown elements that compromise our singular and collective futures is hard to grasp. These difficult realities can’t be ignored. But what will propel us forward, lift us up, and give us hope through this unprecedented time in history are traits like compassion, generosity, selflessness, and forgiveness to name a small few.
As we traverse this uncharted path, we’ll all make mistakes. We’ll do things we regret. But we have the chance, in recognizing moments we’d like to forget, to do better. To be better. There are countless opportunities to positively impact the world, probably now more than ever. So do them. And share them. When goodness accumulates in such meaningful quantity, it can’t help but overflow.
