Friend,
Today I woke up with a pit in my stomach, feeling the profundity of the emotions swirling around me. It's like an energetic punch in the gut 😥.
Some days I feel it all, and just want to cry...for the souls being called home, for the moms struggling to buy groceries for their families, for the dads who wonder when they'll be able to go back to work and pay for the rent, for the singles sitting in their apartments feeling isolated and alone, for the doctors & nurses risking their lives on the front lines, for the sick lying alone without the comfort of loved ones near them, for the persons deep in fear because they were just exposed to the virus, and for all of us missing friends and loved ones and for just wanting to have a 'normal' life where we gather, play, connect and enjoy all that it means to be free and alive.
I'm sure you're feeling it too Friend; I think a lot of us are feeling pretty 'heavy' and lonely right now 😪.
But here we are, all TOGETHER, having our own individual experiences and yet SHARING more than ever before. We are connecting deeper than ever before.
We are collectively going through the 5 stages of grief together. Denial - this can't be happening.
Anger - why did this have to happen?
Bargaining - I promise I'll never ask for another thing if only you will
Depression - a gloom that comes from having to adjust to so much so quickly.
Acceptance.
No matter where you are on the spectrum of getting through this crisis, one thing I know for sure is that your life has shifted, our life has shifted, and it may never go back to the way it was (and maybe, just maybe, that may not be a bad thing).
I know change, even the smallest change, can be difficult. Everyone will handle it the best way they can. Some, like myself, may feel they need to shoulder the weight of this enormity all by themselves. It can feel even more isolating to hold up a strong front and be the super hero and it can sometimes even feel insensitive.
It's a fine line I walk between fully embracing my own pain, your pain, with empathy and wanting to be the beacon of hope that we all need, especially now. The reality is that I vacillate, understandably, between “I can do this!” and “I’m scared as heck.”
Yet the push to help support is greater than my fear and my soul pushes me towards hope.
HOPE is what I have to offer you. Hope is everything. And it’s everywhere!
Hope is in people extending help without consideration of religious, geographical, racial or gender differences. Hope is in families pulling together and appreciating the ONE thing that trumps everything in life, relationships. Hope is in people pushing the bounds of creatively to bring connection into these disconnected times. Hope is in the planet taking a much needed respite from the pounding of our carbon footprint. Hope is in the air cleaning up, and animals returning to places overrun by humans.
No matter how you see the situation, know there is always HOPE!
No matter how you see me, I'm sitting here in my house just like you, looking out my window, and hoping that we’re all going to be okay, that you're going to be ok.
Know that you can count on me right now. If you need to lean on me, lean on me. If you need to ask questions, if you need to talk about the tough stuff, do it, either here by emailing me, or joining the FB group I created for us, for you https://www.facebook.com/groups/905678386547226.
I want you to know I’m thinking of you and feeling the weight of the burden you are shouldering. I’m SO lucky to be able to write you these little words and have them pop up on your screen, so that you know, I deeply care about you ☺.
My hope is strong - take some of it for yourself. No matter what journey you’re on right now, know that I’m here with you allllll the way through it!!!
Love and Blessings my friend ❤
Elena | 
