To My Empath Friends

How is 2020 treating you? How are you doing? Does your life feel like a roller coaster of feeling & validating everyone’s feelings? Are you to the point of being overwhelmed of every single person’s personal view of the dos and don'ts of a pandemic? Are you exhausted by the lack of grace offered as people express their opinions as absolute?

I know this year has certainly been one for the record books. Ugh, I am sorry, we have heard that enough! Aren't we all tired of hearing "this is a fluid situation", or "we are in uncharted waters", or "this is an unprecedented situation"? The thing is, I find myself saying these same things at times as I remind myself to be flexible & that none of us have all the answers. As survivors of whatever our life situations have brought us through, we all have had to adapt at times or roll with things not going as expected. Some of us have faced so many curve balls that this life looks nothing like what we expected. Some of us this is the first time we have felt this out of control. You know what? All of this is okay. We are all experiencing this whether as a veteran to the roll-with-it mentality or as a novice to the roll-with-it world.

Maybe you spent much of March through May advocating for the children & youth in your life, that the thought of school starting up again is cringe-worthy to say the least. Maybe you are just so glad for the

world’s longest spring break to actually come to an end. Maybe you cancelled summer trip plans. Maybe you made new plans for a staycation or a close to home get away. Maybe you spent hours planning a trip (or several!) for the future. Maybe you celebrated everyone still being alive at the end of the day. Maybe you tapped into the untouched Pinterest crafts you have always wanted to do. Maybe you went to bed every night exhausted, but you never left your home that day. Maybe your work schedule continued as normal. Maybe everything that was your normal has now been shaken up. Maybe work life hit a pause for a bit but is now back in full swing. Maybe you found new ways to love those around you better. Maybe there were days that you felt were a total success and others that you felt were a complete failure. All the maybes… but maybe you have felt all the above at one point or another. I want you to hear from a friend,

you are normal! This is normal to have all the feelings. You are normal to have a different take on this situation now than in the beginning. You are normal to be exhausted just physically surviving the day. You are normal because this situation is not normal. You are surviving a weird situation… and that is the best kind of normal!

Wherever you are at, I am thankful you are here! I am thankful you are walking through this roll-with-it time to become a stronger you. I am hopeful that during these strange times, maybe someone has had their eyes open to lives outside their own. I hope none of us will enter the next chapter unchanged. My struggles are not necessarily the same as your struggles and that is good. I want to learn & grow from you. I am thankful that we were made to live in community & to rely on each other. My prayer is that we all have a few positives to put in our pocket and reflect on in the future. A few of mine… I am thankful for YOU! I am thankful for family time. I am thankful that we were made to live in community & to rely on each other. AND I am thankful for the way I have been stretched & challenged to see a bigger picture.

To my dear empath friends, thank you for being the soul of our community! Thank you for being a listening and understanding ear to so many. Thank you for being you! Please know that I raise my glass to you for whatever is remaining in 2020, I am cheering you my friends!

WARNING:

I believe in safe space for everyone. If this post isn't your thing, no big deal, just move on. I am sure you will find that thing that you are passionate to encourage others about. Any negative comments will be removed.