The third year of COVID 19

I have spent the past week getting things rolling. I think, like many
of you, I believed this would be over quickly and we would be back to
whatever sort of new life-mixed with our old life-that remained. As
the time goes on I can see that is not going to be the case. It isn’t
surprising that we have now been turned on each other. That is
politics, get us to fight each other about what it is, when we should
be free to go out again, when it will end, and of course when it will
really end, and we won’t have time to look at the politics of the
whole thing.

No, I am not political, as pathetic as
it might sound I just want us to learn to get along. I think the
truth is that as long as we have people that hold our strings, we
will always be puppets in some way, no matter what we think.

So, what to do? First, be more
empathetic, that is my go to tool. I learned a long time ago that I
personally am too quick to judge. I always adopted the attitude that
if it affected me then I had to argue my side of it, not true, or not
complete, because the other side feels as strongly about their
position, and in some cases even stronger. I used to dismiss the
other side of the coin, the other persons feelings, because I
compared it to myself and judged them wrong. Yes, I did that, but we
all eventually do see that other side if we allow ourselves to grow
and feel, and empathize. Because if the other persons viewpoint is
valid to them, then it is a real position. It matters. It doesn’t
matter that you or I might not be able to see it, it only matters
that that person can see and feel it and it is real to them.

How is that helpful to me? Clearly it
makes me care about someone other than myself, and it is something I
can do without endangering myself, my family, my friends, it is
bending enough to see a different viewpoint, and being mature enough
to accept it as a fact. And, that is important. Because there are
things we do that we think means we are changing, bending, evolving,
that can be dangerous: We can lose ourselves, in trying to pacify
someone else, trying to bend to someone elses will: That is not
empathy. That can damage us, it can hurt people around us, and it can
even change the course of our life in a negative way. Empathy is
understanding. It is taking the time to validate someone elses
feeling, ideas, even lifestyle, even if you do not understand it
completely or embrace it yourself. It is being mature enough to say
other people and what they feel is as important as you and what you
feel.

Does it mean you should change your
life to accommodate them? No, it doesn’t. It does mean that you can
begin to understand that there is a world of different out there.

No two people are the same under the
surface, and the differences they embrace are valid for them even if
they are not for you. I have people in my life that think differently
about things than I do. I mean, people who are Republicans, or
Democrats, or Atheists, or Jews, Or Buddhists or Gay or Straight, or
Nurses, OR Aids patients, or Ministers, or on and on. I don’t worry
about it. Sincerely, I don’t spend my time wondering what atheist
friend thinks about my beliefs. Or whether because I have friends
that are gay I’m gay too. I don’t because it is not part of our
relationship. They find out quickly that I am exactly who I am and I
find the same thing about them. In other words, there are no masks,
no pretense that I care about all the things they do. That I am
friends with them to look good, or they with me. It takes time to
build that sort of relationship. It also takes strength of character,
because you are not bending to their will, or trying to bend them to
your will, you are just being you, and it starts with empathy.
Realizing that others feelings are as valid as yours are.

So, at the end of 2020 and into 2021 I was hospitalized with COVID 19, and yes, it nearly killed me and it took a lot to recover from it. I ended up having antibodies for several days to help, liver surgery and antibiotics for so long I thought they would kill me. Then there was gathering up strength to fight back; as much as I knew I should it was so hard to do it. That took into the beginning of this year to get most of the way back on my feet. And of course now we have another variant to deal with so, because I have a suppressed immune system I have to be just as careful and now the doctors offices are back to wearing masks.

Both hospitals in this area were also hacked during COVID. All the information encrypted and even after they paid the ransom nothing was right. People stopped getting their meds, me included. No meds for three months. No heart meds, no insulin, etc. And what about all the others who still haven’t got things straight. What a mess, but honestly I think, even though we will see new variants just like the regular flu, I believe things are better. Of course politics are still crazy. Two parties that can’t seem to understand that people matter. I rarely make remarks about anything, but I will say truthfully I could care less for their fighting, arguing, and most of them should be in prison. They have been on the American gravy train so long they have become entitled. And that means neither party can be fixed.

So I watch all the stuff going on and
then I continue my life. I care about the circle I have, I can’t do
more than that. If I try I could lose my own way. And, I’m not an
idiot, I can read between the lines. I can see things are taking
longer, I saw that they would before this whole thing started. You
can’t shut down the worlds economy and then just jump-start it back
to life when you feel like it. It is going to take time, patience,
understanding and yes, even empathy for how others feelings matter.

I have friends who depend on close
contact for their livings and they are suffering, I mean that. I see
days tick by, and I know it hurts them, but the fact is it is going
to take as long as it is going to take. It would be best if all of us
could get together and work out a plan of how to put our lives back
on track, but we can’t. We can see that by watching the news. The two
main political parties can’t even agree, so how are we supposed to
agree?

We can practice empathy. Yes, it sounds
like crap, but it isn’t, because empathy means understanding, not
bending to accept someone else’ viewpoint. It means that if you can
do that you will be less upset. Not let all of this break you down.
Because people who like to influence others depend on that. They
believe if they continue to stir the pot you will get sick of all
that crap they are distributing and cave in. Empathy means you can
understand it, but you don’t have to go past that. Just be you, draw
back, don’t let it consume you.

What do I think? I think we need an actual third party. Not some bullshit construction to cause to ignore all the fuckery that is going on, but a real third party that embraces the actual spirit and reasons we had for fighting for our independence in the first place. We need it, because what we have is a bunch of spoiled, entitled rich men and woman who simply want to continue the gravy train.

Does that mean it will stop? Of course
not, but tomorrow it will be more of the same, or a new angle being
flung at you, something, and if you are smart enough to know that you
don’t have to feed into it, that you are also entitled to empathy,
feelings, your own position, that you are worthwhile it will be
easier to continue to be you. Stick by your positions. Wait this out,
because there will be a day when we are talking about how it was, not
how it is… Dell