As I tap away at my keyboard, I can hear the rain outside, gently falling. It is still pitch dark outside, the clouds covering any sign of sunrise. Yet, I am up already, having slept restlessly with the Coronavirus on my mind. My girls are still sleeping, home from school for the day, for the week, maybe for the month, who knows? Life has slowed down considerably and we hang suspended in uncertainty. Our pantry and freezer are filled to the brim and I have grown tired of shopping.

We Are Experiencing a Subtle Attitude Shift

We are just waiting now, with angst, and while we are waiting for life to get back to normal, I notice that there is something else that is subtly taking shape here, a quiet whisper of a shift in attitude. People are stocking up on necessities, and toilet paper has become the most popular product on the shelf.

Amazon has just issued a notice that if you are trying to purchase anything non-essential online, you best be patient because you may not get it for awhile. What I am feeling outside of the trepidation, is a renewed gratitude for all that I have. I find myself pondering and appreciating the things that I normally take for granted: my family, our home, a paycheck each month, our health, the comfort of having plenty of food in our pantry.

For years, I used to save the heels of our bread to make bread crumbs, but a while back, I started tossing them in the trash because who has the time to mess with making bread crumbs? But today, I can’t bring myself to waste any food, so I keep the heels today. What was evidently no problem yesterday, is wasteful today… there it is, a shift in perspective has taken place, yes, inside of me, but not just in me, in all of us. Can you feel it? The threat of the virus has forced us to take a step back, and while the virus is obviously not a good thing, it appears to be teaching us something.

We Have Renewed Appreciation

We are becoming more appreciative of all that we have. This virus threatens our economy and our health, and we are no longer taking either of these for granted. We are also taking the time to think about how important the people in our lives are to us, and we are picking up the phone and calling those we love. We are becoming more cognoscente of the difference between our necessities and our luxuries, and we are noticing that we only really need the essentials and each other to be happy.

We Have a Rare Opportunity To Slow Down

We have all been forced to slow down and do a little less, and I have to say, it’s refreshing. We are all in need of rest and of reconnecting with our families and I am grateful for this time together. We are staying home, we are being still, and we are being offered time that we normally do not have. We are appreciating the simple things, like hot soup in the crock-pot and a game of chess with our kids. We have time to think about things and to truly take inventory of our blessings.

​Attitudes are shifting, we are thinking about conserving our resources and not wasting what has been given to us. We are saving the heels of our bread instead of throwing them into the trash and this is a good thing. I have faith that we will come out of this situation more conscientious, appreciative and stronger than we were before.