Gratitude During The Pandemic
It is that time of year again and we are still reeling from the effects of this pandemic. Can we still find that holiday spirit?
As the air starts to carry a crisp chill and the Thanksgiving holiday is just a few days away, I am brought back to earlier this year. I am sitting by the window and it is cold now like it was then. I find myself reflecting. Reflecting on the beginning of it all, what it felt like, the worry, the fear, the noise, the unknown, and the gratitude. The gratitude? Yes, gratitude. Even in the wake of one of the most devastating pandemics in history, I felt immensely grateful and thankful. It has kept me going ever since.
Allow me to take you back to a moment in time, a moment very important to me. I am in my apartment, in Manhattan, in the beginning…
Sometimes it is just nice to sit.
To sit and to think.
To sit next to the window
The space with the most light in the house,
Beams of the sun shining through.
And even though its 40 degrees outside,
You are inside and that sun coming through is warm.
It warms just the one side of your face,
You have to close your eyes to take it all in.
And you just sit, and feel, and think
It is all simple. It is all still.
We do not have a lot of that these days, the stillness that is.
We have phones buzzing, watches vibrating, and the preview of whatever is queuing up on Netflix playing over and over again with no remorse. We are inundated and interrupted.
There is not a lot of quiet and stillness. Not a lot at all.
No quiet reflection, simple observations, and personal mediation.
Just worry, static and foggy noise.
Amid the terror of this pandemic, I have been on the hunt for that stillness a little more often nowadays. With a half glass of wine, sitting on the edge of my couch, listening to the sounds from out the window. I search to find that stillness, that calm, that reflection. I had no idea how much I needed it, I had no idea it was something I was missing until I found it. Exhausting all ideas to keep busy, all puzzles and games, TV shows and movies, and the news, oh the news. Exhausted from all of the panic, the static, and that foggy noise.
Completely exhausted from it all. I sat, in the quiet, in the still, at the moment. The best therapy I have found. And then deep in my stillness, I start to hear it. I hear the cheers. They grow and they get louder and louder. Then there are pans clanking together, hooting and hollering from all around and whistles and claps. I open one eye and quietly peek at the old clock on the wall. The small and the big hands both 5 ticks past 6. It is 7 PM in Manhattan and the entire island has become unified from each of their homes, each of their living rooms and bedrooms and balconies. Cheering and cheering loud. It interrupts my stillness in the best way. Before I know it, I hear the cheers coming from within my own house, from within my own body, from within me.
We are cheering for the doctors and the nurses, the healthcare works, the hospital staff, the teachers, the truck drivers, all the essential personnel. Going out every day, going to the front lines. They go into battle without the proper armor and not enough weapons, yet they go. Everyday. They go to fight this disease. They go to save lives. These heroes. These amazing men and women and everything else in between. These amazing people. We are cheering for them. We show our respect and appreciation. We show that we are united and we stand with them by opening our windows and cheering out loud. We yell “Thank you!” from our brownstones, high-rises, and walk-ups. Together we make noise. And silently my eyes start to swell and I feel the pressure building up behind them and in my chest. I have gone from appreciating my quiet stillness to appreciating this deliberate crystal clear loud noise.
Americans. World. Human Race. We must clear through the clutter and fog. We must be calm, quiet, and reflective with our inner gratitude and we must be deliberate, unified, and loud in our extrinsic gratitude. The common denominator in all of this is gratitude. That is what will keep us going, both apart and together. To be thankful, be present, and be grateful. We need to show this gratitude to ourselves, those we love, and those we admire most.
As I reflect on that moment and the feelings and thoughts running through me, I look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday. Although I will not have all of my family with me this Thanksgiving, I will feel grateful.
This Thanksgiving, I have not forgotten that gratitude, and I give thanks to all of you marching into battle every day to keep the economy going, the deliveries coming, the children learning and the hospitals running. To everyone fighting to defeat this virus, saving lives and keeping the world spinning, thank you.
THANK YOU!
Written by: Shawna A. Salinger