A Daughter’s Words…
Few things in this world can fill my heart - and make me teary - in the way that insight coming from my children does.
This, just in from my daughter, Sierra…
A couple of months ago when my mom was visiting, we went to Ojai for the weekend and ended up at the farmer’s market in town. In classic Ojai-fashion, among all of the organic fruit stands and homemade baked good stands, there was a man offering his unique service, the gift of a free hug. My boyfriend, my sister and I, laughed and dared each other to go hug the man, who was just standing there smiling. My mom brushed off our silly giggles and walked over to the man and asked for a hug. He grabbed his stool and got on it (he was shorter) and they hugged for a couple of minutes, until my mom got teary eyed. Right now, looking back, I really wish I had also gone in for that free hug.
My whole family and I have a Whatsapp chat that allows us to stay connected as some of us are on the West Coast, some on the East Coast, and one (my mom) is in Italy. Many of the recent messages have been about tragic stories coming out of Italy, sprinkled with some funny memes about missing toilet paper, and lots of graphs about coronavirus + Covid-19. My sister, who isn’t typically very active on the chat, chimed in one day: “Some light on the situation: I’ve noticed that my roommates are becoming more grounded. One of them started reading again. The house is cleaner than ever. My housemate and I started working out and doing yoga in the morning. We watch movies together and we make popcorn. I also started reading again. Beds are being made. I am able to do things I’ve been putting off because they were not my main priority. Our minds are less scattered, we aren’t constantly working, doing homework and doing so much more all the time anymore. I’ve been able to talk to my friends back in Italy more often. A lot of people are dying but hopefully a lot are healing as well.”
She’s right, the world may be a dark and scary place right now and many are suffering but many are also healing and reconnecting with themselves and the basics of being a human. We tend to build an image of ourselves based on how the world sees us and what people think of us, and even today when our human interaction has been diminished, we are still trying to get that reassurance and instant gratification via instagram posts and stories. But there’s an opportunity to unplug and to find out what makes YOU feel good about YOURSELF without the input of others, without the job title, without the work uniform. I think that’s where we will find healing and enter this world with a refreshed approach, a heart full of gratitude for the people you love and the things you love to do (big or small), and not revert back to our old ways. Yes we’ve been asked to stay home, but really, we’ve been given a chance to explore a whole new world within ourselves, no passport needed.
Who knows what the world will look like after this but I’d like to believe that we will no longer see lines for the grocery store, and instead we will see lines to get free hugs. I’d like to believe that we can head back outside and breathe in that pollution-free Los Angeles air. I’d like to believe that we will pass by strangers and smile and say hi to them from under 6ft away. I’d like to believe that we will always have gratitude for the nurses, farmers, grocery store clerks, doctors, truck drivers, and people who help heal this world even when this is all over. I’d like to believe that we will practice more kindness even when we’re not forced to. To all of those who have been leading their lives this way since the beginning, my mom included, thanks for being ahead of the curve, and thank you for waiting for the rest of us to catch up. We have some work to do.
Ojai Farmer’s Market