Another Week . . .

Another Monday!  Time to . . . 

==

" Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."
        --- Dale Carnegie

==

This week, I'm sharing a guide to Coronavirus-related words from Merriam-Webster.  This guide will help you decipher the terminology you've likely been hearing regarding the Coronavirus . . . and will help you understand the difference between an outbreak, an epidemic, and a pandemic (among other things).

==

I'm sure that, like me, you are coronavirus-news'd out!  But this is interesting, and maybe worth the read.  (I live with a scientist, and he is interested in a slightly different angle on this pandemic thing.)  This interview (from Wired) with epidemiologist Larry Brilliant talks about what we can expect from this pandemic, and why testing is so important.

==

This touching poem, penned by Brother Richard Hendrick, a Capuchin Franciscan living in Ireland, made the rounds last week.  I'm sharing it anyway . . . because even if you've already seen it, it's really worth another read.

Lockdown
by Brother Richard Hendrick

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
people are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
so that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality.
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic.
The birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing.
Spring is coming.
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul.
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.

==

Yesterday, I went for a long walk with JoJo and along the way, we came upon this stretch of sidewalk in my neighborhood:

It filled me with joy!  What a happy surprise.  (And as I circled back on the other side of the road, I saw another walker feeling similar joy as she discovered the happy chalk messages.)  It made me think . . . to look for some chalk and create my own messages of hope on the sidewalk near my house . . . to bring cheer to my neighbors as they walk by.  

=

And here is something to make you chuckle.  This guy in Great Britain - a sports announcer - is "sports-narrating" events from  everyday life (now that there are no sporting events to announce) and posting them on his Twitter account.  I don't do the Twitters, but I could still click in and watch these videos.  They are quite fun.  Give it a try when you feel you need a moment of levity today.

=

And you may remember last March when Tom and I went to the Butterflies are Blooming exhibit at the Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids for my birthday?  Well. . . the butterflies are back . . . but no one can visit them this year.  Meijer Gardens has a live butterfly stream on YouTube, though.  I'll be checking in from time to time to see what's going on.

==

And that's it for this Monday.

Stay well.
Stay home.
Flatten the curve.

Comments

[Bonny]

Thanks for all the good stuff this Monday! I especially love the quote and it's going on my refrigerator. I'm trying to read only science-based things, so I thank you for the Wired article. Honest, truthful, and not sensationalized - just what I need to read!

[Kat]

Oh my! Thank you for that YouTube link! That is awesome! Happy Monday!

[Chloe]

You always give good food for thought, Kym. I can’t read this right now but will later when I have time to take it all in.

[margene]

The poem is perfect and I am going to carry it with me to remind me we will see the end of this thing. I want chalk. I may have added some to my order from the Behemoth (along with gf flour I can't get locally). Red Butte Gardens has an active Instagram feed. I miss walking the trails and seeing spring come forth on my own but it's nice to know what's happening.

[Kim Sheehan]

I'm enchanted by the butterfly garden video.

[Patty]

Massachusetts just shut down. We're considered essential though so I'll still be coming in and happy to do so. Thank-you for all of this and that poem. I'm looking forward to checking out some of the sports silliness...it's important! xo

[Debbie]

I love that poem and am so glad you shared the entire poem. I'm going to pass it on to some friends later today. Hope today is a good one for you!

[Carole]

Thank you for sharing things that will make me smile today - especially the live stream of butterflies. I don't know if I can read that interview but I love the poem.

[Vera Lane]

The poem and the butterflies...thank you!

[Sarah]

You crammed so much good stuff into one post! I particularly liked the end of the Wired article when Dr. Brilliant (great name!) noted that he was seeing the good in people come out -- much like the poem highlights. I've seen that, too, in my neighborhood, with people putting out cheerful signs. I'm trying to do what I can to spread some joy.

[Chloe]

This whole post has just been the best Kym. That poem is like armor for the challenges ahead.

[Bridget Clancy]

There are so many sidewalk messages in our neighborhood! My fave so far is one written clearly in little-kid-hand that has a rainbow and says, "Nurses rock! Hug your mom and dad" - and then a couple of blocks away, one that says, "My brother is stupid." Kind of News of the Day thing. :-)

[eileen]

I love the POEM....thank you

[Mary]

Great links, Kym - thank you! must admit, I kind of love all the things we can watch these days (and I still have a season of Call the Midwife and 7 episodes of Homeland to catch up!)