Whew. This has been a roller-coaster of a month. There’s confusion, fear, despair, peppered with some hope and connection. We’ve howled with laughter at celebrity attempts to encourage handwashing, raged at press conferences and the injustices this crisis highlights. The struggle is real; everyone is feeling this pandemic in one way or another.
As I’ve been washing my hands and wiping door knobs, watching yet another youtube about insane cooking (recreate takis in your home!), two thoughts keeps coming back to me. One is something I heard many years ago from Becky Bailey: Let your calm be contagious.
Let your calm be contagious!
Larry Cohen, in his book The Opposite of Worry, writes about the second chicken. He describes chickens as looking to each other to decide whether or not to panic, so if a chicken is startled, they will look to another chicken and gauge their reaction before freaking out. So, Cohen writes, parents should strive to be a calm second chicken for their kids. Let their calm be contagious.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to be a calm second chicken in the face of uncertainty, entirely new school routines and responsibilities, and an unpredictable future, without filling your own cup. Even as we isolate, we need each other. How fortunate we are to be in an age that many of us can use technology to nurture our relationships through this time. Bloomington Center for Connection will be offering a zoom group for any caregivers needing to fill their reservoir of calm. There will be time to give voice to your own concerns, and be heard, as well as time to find ways to focus on sustainable and productive ways of surviving the next few weeks/months/unspecified amount of time. If you’d like to join, fill out the contact form below and we’ll get you on the zoom list!
Go and ask anybody, they will all say the same. Love is contagious, we are part of a chain
In closing, I’ll share this gem. (The second thought I mentioned above). Every time I hear the word contagious, I remember the Basia tune from the late 80s, Promises,– and I start humming. Bonus– it’s a bop! Might as well fill some of these long hours with uninhibited dancing!*
*If you need a little inspiration, join us this Thursday at 9:30 am for Zoom, Zoom, Zumba with Darrelyn. Meeting ID: 997 165 8643