I WAKE UP EVERY MORNING THINKING THIS WAS ALL JUST A BAD DREAM
How is everyone holding together? Does the strangeness of the world today feel more like the new normal, or are you still having a difficult time adjusting? If I am honest about how I am feeling personally, it's not bad, not great, I am just sad about what is happening.
I wake up every morning thinking this was all just a bad dream. Nothing is as it used to be, lives are lost, and there is a sense that we have gone to war. For several years now, I have lived with worry about what was going to happen to our world with all the endless destruction, pollution, global warming, and environmental crisis. Most people knew something dramatic was going to happen, we just didn’t know what and when.
The irony of this all is that while we are scared, our planet finally got a chance to take a breath.
We have been burning Earth’s lungs, the rainforests, and COVID-19 makes us understand what it feels like when lungs are burning.
When something happens, bad or good, we do not really know for sure if it is good or bad until later on. Maybe if this pandemic didn’t happen, things would get much worse and an even greater catastrophe could strike. Perhaps this is a chance to start making a change before it is too late.
This is not to discount all the lost jobs, and lives, they are devastatingly real. Ironically similar to traditional wars, lives lost may mean many lives saved.
This new strange world has given us time to be at home with our immediate families and go on dog walks. I see so many more dogs out on walks than before, and I wonder if our pooches are thinking about the fact that they are no longer left alone when their people go to work.
The presence of dogs is even more important than before, they cheer us up and keep us company. Many seniors are now solely dependant upon the companionship of dogs, because they have to live in self-isolation. It is no exaggeration to say that canines are saving lives, and helping people ward off depression and loneliness.
HUMOR AS A SURVIVAL TOOL
When the going gets tough, humor helps. It helped me a lot when I was living behind the iron curtain under the Russian occupation, and it helps now too. I hope you don't mind if I share a few jokes with you now.
I was told this first joke about 20 years ago by my friend Manfred, when I visited him and his wife Berta (who were in their eighties at the time). Manfred and Berta, don't you just love their names?!
Anyhow, here is their joke:
Planet X met planet Earth in space and asked: “Hey Earth, long time no see, how are you doing?” Earth replied: “Feeling a bit under the weather, actually, I caught People...” Planet X: “Oooh, don’t worry, it’s not going to last very long...!”
Berta and Manfred passed away some time ago now, and I only wish I could have another conversation with them. They were very much ahead of their time, and dog lovers too! Here are a few pics of them.
Here is another viral video recorded by a very cute dog. Social distancing and searching for snacks are very different from a dog's perspective! No butt sniffing! 😆
And the most touching video is this one in Italian. Even if you have seen it before, I hope that you will share it with as many people as you can! We all need to hear this.
Please stay safe, do all you can to stop the virus spread, and give your dog a hug for me! ❤️
© Dr. Peter Dobias
