Day 6: I am feeling like a Caterpillar.

So, I sit here, that seems a key part of social isolation.  Sitting at home and thinking and wondering about this day and time as well as what the future will be when we are on the other side of the pandemic crisis.  We will get to the other side it just seems to me it is a matter of time and how well we heed the orders from our various government and healthcare experts.

As we all struggle with these times, the best advice I have is to get out of the house and get some exercise.  I do that as often as I can because it is good for my brain, my heart and everyone’s sanity at home.  Honest, it is also an opportunity to give you and those in your household a break and can breathe and remind ourselves that the strain we feel is felt by everyone around us as well.

Today I went walking around the trails of Longview, and around puddles of water.  I am honestly enjoying the beauty that comes with the rain we have been having.  The trees are full of leaves, pretty and green.   We have the last bit of cold weather before spring grabs a hold and hopefully March showers will bring April flowers.

So, as I walked around the trail, I started to think of caterpillars.  A caterpillar spends its life walking
from leaf to leaf with one focus and that is to eat as much as he can.  Eat, chomp and keep eating and that is all his mission is.   Then suddenly, he stops, finds a spot on a branch or wherever he may be, hangs upside down, and starts to spin his cocoon.   I assume he doesn’t know what is about to occur, but he becomes fully wrapped in silk and becomes a chrysalis. 





Then his body goes through a miraculous transformation and he emerges as a butterfly.

What if we looked at this time as a person, as a town, as a society and looked at this time we are in similar to a caterpillar.  In recent times we have mostly focus inward on our work, immediate family, and driving value in a society where many measures our value by money.   We work hard, we pride ourselves on what car we drive, what home or homes we live in, and the success of our family.

But, guess what, this virus doesn’t really care about any of that does it?  It seems in NYC being rich and famous has hurt more than helped in the catching of the virus.  I imagine that the rich have an advantage of getting better care but when it comes to the getting sick, they tend to be around a lot more people.  No wonder the numbers in NYC, a large population, well-traveled and highly dense population made the city not be an advantage in this case.

So, what if we all took a step back, in our self-isolated cocoon.  As we can’t go out to our favorite restaurant or hang out with a group of friends what can we do?  I thought today maybe we can act more like a caterpillar.  We have been though our eating phase and now it is time to think about a more caring and beautiful future as a society and world. 

In my case, I finally logged into the IBM Cloud and made an integration work between slack and Gmail to start building back up technical skills for my next step in the future.  I also started to wave at everyone as they drive by during my walks and remind myself each day how lucky I am to be able to sit at home.  It is also a luxury that we live in a community where people seem to be caring for each other and not hoarding as much essentials that we will all need to get through these times.

I hope society will continue become kinder and more considerate.  It seems like people are waving back more often.  I notice in the stores people seem to tolerate lines and waiting more than a few weeks ago.  It also doesn’t feel that this is a “political” issue as much as it is that people understand we are in this together across all countries around the globe.  The virus went global quickly.

So, as I sit here contemplating caterpillars.  I am committing to become a better butterfly as I take this day to day.

1. I promise to be more patient, and to not feel like I am in a hurry to get through a line or store when honest right now I have “time”.  
2. I promise to be kinder and patient at home as we all are going to be on a roller coaster as time goes forward.  
3. I will continue to build up skills to make my own butterfly as beautiful and my transformation a happy one.  
4. Post pandemic I won’t forget all the new lessons learned and continue to be more patient and happier soul.

As we all navigate this uncharted state of the world and our lives, I hope you all stay happy, healthy and keep an eye on making all our lives better post pandemic.