My world is filled with standing on stages, meeting wonderful people, writing books, and living the dream … until March of 2020. Overnight everything changed — my full calendar became empty.
What’s your slice of humble pie?
So we are in this together, right?
My speaker buds and I have taken a hit and were served a large slice of humble pie. The first Zoom call, most of us were in shock. The once totally put-together impressive women who always dress to kill looked like they wanted to hurt somebody … anybody. I could hardly recognize some folks — no make-up and some half-dressed. You only need to be dressed from the waist up for a Zoom call. One speaker friend confessed to the group that since she has been home-schooling; her children now call her Smother instead of Mother.
Of course, we have developed a new vocabulary: social distancing, new normal, and virtual whatever. Indecent exposure is now defined as someone not wearing a mask in public.
What have you learned? What are you learning?
I know what I am learning. All my bits of sweet tea wisdom and southern fried humor sound great when you are sharing from a stage or writing a story, but suddenly those words become totally alive when you have to live your own speech.
Years ago I heard a story by the great Zig Zeigler that still lingers in my head. The parents of twin boys were totally baffled. The boys were polar opposites: one was super positive and the other totally negative. The parents sought the help of a renowned psychologist to help even out the attitudes of the twins. One of the boys was put in a room with the best toys for him to play with. The other twin was placed on a room with nothing but a huge pile of manure. The parents and psychologist observed the twins as they interacted with their environments. The twin placed in the room with the state-of-the-art toys suddenly burst into tears. “There is no one to play with me!” he exclaimed. The other twin had a different experience. In the room with the pile of manure, the parents and psychologist only saw the child’s legs — the rest of his body was jammed into that awful pile of manure. Then they heard him say, “There has to be a pony in here somewhere!”
So it all goes back to attitude and how we see things. A friend of mine confessed that she had forgotten how to enjoy the simple things in life. She hears the birds sing more and sees the beauty in budding flowers.
It’s a humbling experience when the playing field is level and we have to dig deep, even in our own pile of manure, and develop skills and go through to get through.
I am thankful for good health, a wonderful family, and a sweet supportive community.
Back to my original question; what have I learned?
Be thankful and, although COVID-19 is not funny, try to find some levity and laughter. In order to survive in a healthy way, let’s all dig deep and look for simple pleasures.
