Just a few weeks ago, being out for dinner and drinks with friends was just a Saturday. Nowadays that is a risky, irresponsible, and in some areas, and rightly so, illegal. It’s like Mother Nature has been telling us for decades that we’re going too fast in the wrong direction and we’re hurting her. But we were not listening. She’s now shouting ‘Time out! Time out!’
The world has gone mad. Due to the way we grow animals for human consumption and for food safety, for decades we’ve been treating animal products like bio hazards. Case and point, the care we take to reduce the risk of spreading Salmonella from raw meat in the kitchen. We’ve also had to treat fruits and vegetables as bio hazards thanks to their potential for caring (hazardous) chemicals and other pathogens. The higher chance of pesticides present on apples or celery, or the chance of the dreaded E. coli on fresh produce comes to mind.
During the first few months of 2020, now I have to assume I’m a bio hazard to others in order to keep my family safe! WTF?
A Sharper Appreciation
Being socially isolated and today’s reality have given me a different perspective and allowed me to modify my value scale. Just today, watching the news on TV (I know, I still watch broadcast TV) and in the middle of it all, seeing ads for cellphone companies, luxury vehicles, fast food chains, etc. started to bother me. They’re pestering me because lately my POV has shifted to mainly pay attention to the things that are really important to me.
To a point, being stuck at home has made life simpler for me. The first and most important thing is staying healthy both physically and mentally. Appreciating the things I have, especially the ones that are immaterial like my good relationship with my family and my tremendous shift in gender expression. I’m incredibly grateful of the people I know and those that call me their friend. I’m also abundantly thankful of my education and awareness.
Staying objective I think is my most beneficial target at the moment. Yes, absolutely things are tough and the chances of getting tougher are pretty high at the time of writing. But on the other hand I do have to be thankful for being in good health and surrounded with loved ones, even if they are not physically with me. Stepping back and rationalizing the irrational behaviour of others has helped me avoid the contagious panic.
Staying Sane
Focusing on my well-being first should ensure that I can then focus on the well-being of those around me. If I’m in a bad mental state I’ll transmit that negative energy and that’s the last thing I want to do now. One of those few things that are really important to me is my positive energy. Instead of wasting that energy on everything that is happening outside of my control I’m trying to limit my exposure to not too much news and paying attention to the things I can control. One of those things, for example, is writing these thoughts.
I’m trying to avoid looking too much at the big picture or too far into the future. At the moment looking at the big picture increases my potential to get overwhelmed and trying to look too far into the future is a futile exercise as everything seems to be changing at neck breaking speed. Rather I want to stay clear-headed by writing more. I have a number of topics I want to develop here at HolaSoyYo.com. Instead of running the risk of getting information overload by consuming incoming media, I will be publishing more of my thoughts here. I promise myself to avoid writing about current affairs, and rather turn to writing about my past experiences reshaping my gender expression.
Now with the public health concerns and being self isolated at home there is little reason for me to put on anything more complex that a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt with no makeup and wearing my hair up. Staying home with more time to write and other people more time to read (do people still read?)… I get the feeling that others may get a distraction from what is happening around the world and at the same time may find what I post interesting if not useful.
Consider staying in touch with others and being thankful for those checking up on us.
Hi Franches,
Yes, some of us still read, some of us need distractions and some need something else.
We need each other, we need our families, and we need our friends, I am grateful and blessed to have you as one.
I look forward to reading more, even a few minutes distraction right now is useful.
Hi Franches, to some extent, your posts are teaching me the process that you are living and I’m understanding your feelings and motivations. As your brother and part of your family, for me, your essence is the same but with a huge difference that I see you happier and confident in what you are doing in this tremendous process.
We love you.
Mauricio.
Who knew that that state of the world would continue until now? Your choices are good and I’m doing the same – making the most of this Covid period. Great to read!
Oh my Jo! It’s been a heavy past couple of years at this point. As much as I wanted to write more, I did not publish as much as I originally wanted. Though I’m thankful of the few posts I made since this post was originally made.
I treasure all of your posts! I’ll be happy to see another whenever it arrives ..
Thanks Jo. It has been tougher than I thought during this covid-19 pandemic. Though there is so much more worth discussing.