Covid has been a catalyst for how I’ve been feeling in general, watching our country split, fighting, normal people unable to listen to each other. Each night I’d hear another story in disbelief about murder, social injustice, lack of leadership, misplaced loyalties. When Covid hit it accelerated my feelings of anger and despair. A family, a company, a country can rot when it’s on a bad path and it’s made me realize how important a moral compass is – not just for making decisions today, but for hope in our future.
We bought a Siberian husky puppy named Orion. He’s now 5 months old and he doesn’t care who’s in the White House, how my job went today, what news made it in the headlines. He only wants to walk, play, lick my face and chase whatever moves in the yard – even a leaf.
The challenge is to bridge these two realities, without imposing, and listening carefully to others. My dad used to tell me that I know what I know, wouldn’t it be nice to know what others know? My challenge is take all this pent-up anger, frustration and disappointment and to make someone else’s life and experience just a bit happier – even for the moment. To take the realities of “Orion” and channel it to make some else’s life just a bit better, making them feel important and to listen carefully and thoughtfully. When I don’t listen, the dog knocks over another plant.
