Wow, the times we are living in. It seems like chaos everywhere. Anxiety, uncertainty, worry, panic. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, each one is on their personal journey, maybe going through a good time, or sadly, through rough times. The outside world is something we cannot control. But even when we feel powerless, we can control what we do and how we react to the situation. I have refrained from posting part 3 of my trip to New York City, specially out of respect for what such a lively city is going through right now.

🎵 Don't nobody tell me that God don't have a sense of humor. 'Cause now that I want to live, well, everybody around me is dying. - "Leave it alone" by Hayley Williams

We can feel like we can’t share good news because it feels vain, meaningless, disrespectful. But life is not black and white. Life is a multicolored journey that is never just one single thing. Not all is bad. Not all is good. A friend of mine says, “there’s never complete happiness” and that might be true. I am not trying to sell the “always be positive, always have a smile on your face” kind of mindset. It’s not realistic. What I want to emphasize is that we can’t just focus on the bad and the ugly that is happening. COVID-19 is not the only thing happening and hopefully, it won’t even exist in the future . 

I feel worry for those who are in the front line, fighting this pandemic. I have a friend that is a doctor in direct contact with the illness. I have friends and family that have compromised immune systems. My grandfather is 80. I visited him the other day to bring him some groceries, and that’s when it hit. Am I putting my grandpa in danger just by being here? I had protective gear and my worry was so contrasting to the smile on his face because I was there, visiting him. Is during these precise moments that we realize, nothing is one-sided, nothing is completely good or bad. He was not seeing the negative side of the pandemic, he was seeing the positive side, that I had brought him groceries so he wouldn’t have to leave home.

While being there, I felt tired so I took my blood pressure. 90/63.  I took it once again, same outcome. I told him, “Grandpa, this blood pressure machine isn’t working.” He said, “of course it is.” I said, “No, look at my numbers, it is not marking anything above 100. My pressure can’t be that low”. He took his blood pressure. 110/78. The machine wasn’t malfunctioning. His blood pressure was better than mine. I left feeling relieved for him, he’s feeling well. Meanwhile I was worried about me. Why was my pressure so low? I eventually had a virtual appointment with a doctor and we found the cause and I am dealing with it. 

This is just an example about how in this new reality we are living in and that -again- will be temporary- good things will happen as well. We can cherish them without guilt. So take a deep breath and even if it’s a few times a day, try to find those good moments, enjoy them, feel happy about them without guilt. Todo pasa. Everything shall pass, the good and the ugly. I might be posting soon my third part of my travel diary about New York City. Instead of seeing it as vain, I’ll see it as a hopeful post. A tribute to the great city it is, full of people rushing all over. Because I am certain that it will go back to being that. It will not be the same, because after hard times there is always a transformation. But it will go back to be one of the most visited places in the world. And I want to share with you how was my journey there and inspire you to make the trip when it’s safe to do so.

Let’s keep up to date with the news in a healthy way, act responsibly and do our part in containing the coronavirus, keeping ourselves and our families as safe as we can, take the pandemic seriously but also, stop and allow ourselves to disconnect and find the light 🌟 in the dark.

🎵 When there's persistence, You can go farther. Beyond the end. If in the distance, there's more resistance. Try to stay open. Make it your friend. - "Over Yet" by Hayley Williams