IF A FROG HAD WINGS
Sunday, July 19, 2020
I was reviewing old plans, mid-year review of new year’s resolutions/commitments when something struck me. Pawing through one of those ‘where things accumulate’ drawers – we all have them in our desks, dressers, and kitchens, looking for something.
Like exploring aimlessly without a goal, wandering without an expectation – or, as I found, looking for some things and finding others I’d not thought of in ages.
Obviously, some resolutions are rendered ‘out of the question’ because of COVID, but that would be a convenient answer, an excuse really, for avoiding this admission: I guess I didn’t want to do them as badly as I thought.
Others have shone. Things I planned to do, and I’m doing them to good effect: diet, exercise, and sleep habits among them.
I re-read some notes about habits; and how to know if you are developing them.
Good or bad.
Indicators that you notice that you like, that you’ve become committed to.
Recycling is one. I’ve become fastidious, or maybe meticulous is the better word, at making sure everything (and nothing else) compostable goes into the compostable bin. Making sure every piece of recyclable paper, glass, or metal (especially packaging) goes into the recycle bin. As a result, I’ve cut way down on my use of those hefty black trash bags because I’m contributing so much less to the landfill … so that one I would rate as a good habit.
I’ve made changes in diet and exercise too – but not so much yet that I can brag about the habit …
Getting back to the ‘finding what you weren’t looking for,’ I am encountering this around every corner lately. I don’t think my vision has improved, but my awareness of some opportunities has become more acute. I like that. I love the results – not so much so that I am reaping enormous rewards, but rather the ‘habit’ is forming … and I have an excellent feeling about the outcomes ahead.
Yes, I’m riding out the pandemic like everyone else – a little frazzled, a little fearful, a little angry, and a lot wiser about risks than I have been.
It’s mid-year. Have you reviewed your 2020 plans? Reviewed your resolutions? I expect everyone has things on their list, which were tossed off the list by the virus ~ like travel, vacation plans, and countless other things we took for granted before we learned we can long take things for granted.
I am already enjoying the 2nd half of 2020 more than the first half, and that feeling has nothing to do with balmy weather – nothing at all.
I expect I am far from alone in this regard, as we all adjust our expectations, plans, and goals based on a new landscape of risks, opportunities, and so many things which will never be the same again, ever!
A century ago, buggy whip manufacturers were thriving. The pandemic flu a century ago didn’t render buggies or buggy whips obsolete – the car did. I think that is worth remembering because, in the coming years, many things will change – some because of COVID and many for entirely different reasons. The pace of change has never been this swift. What COVID has taught more than anything else, is not about our ability to cope with change as much as our ability to DO change.
There is nothing we cannot try.
But if we do not try, we will never do.
That just won’t do.
Not trying might work for some, but for the many – we must do. Do more. Change more. Try more.
When we are looking for something, keep your eyes open for all the exciting opportunities you’ll see.
While our human world is adapting to change, defending our species – mostly the weak, the poor, and those otherwise comprised in health or circumstance will perish. Fools will come and go on political landscapes, and many of them will suffer too – but sadly, so will many who mean well and have done well by their fellow humans, who have worked for their neighbour or family member. Most of us will survive.
We won’t grow reptilian skin or forfeit our fifth toe – it’s not an evolutionary adaptation; it’s a lifestyle adaption for an undetermined period of time.
We will do more than thrive.
We will experiment and risk more, we will innovate more – and we will do all of it faster, not just in medical research for a vaccine, but in all things.
Not everyone.
Some people are stuck, or confused, or paralyzed by fear or circumstance.
Here’s the thing, in a hundred years, only our infants will be around. Most of us will perish from some cause before that – we will be the dust of history. Millennia from now all records of our lives will be gone.
What can we do while we wait?
We can lift people.
We can help people who have fallen.
We start by lifting ourselves – like the frog who had wings, so he wouldn’t keep kicking himself in the behind.