Money, or lack of it seems to occupy my mind and even heart at times. I don’t sleep well. I worry about the next meal or paying the phone bill. I am not alone.
COVID has impacted everyone in many ways. In my case, I found a great job that required mostly weekends. I wanted it. I was excited. I got the job. We got my account set up. I was officially hired. The next day, the program was closed till January due to the current spike in cases. Oh, I still have the job, if we can ever re-open the program. But, I am not making money that I was counting on.
Other jobs have been put on hold due to COVID. Somewhere in the middle of it, I am on hold, too.
It is frustrating.
I look around me. I at least have some work (not enough to meet the bills, but some). Others are not so lucky. With the surge, comes layoffs, this time with no assistance. What are people to do?
Still other situations are occurring. My son’s job was taking advantage of him – he was being asked to work overtime, but somehow they did not count those hours and refused to pay him. It came down to his manager simply did not count the hours and told him that he didn’t actually work the overtime. He complained. But the organization said he would have to be able to prove his clock-in and clock-out times with pictures that, of course, he had not been taking. Times are rough and his employer was taking advantage of the difficulty finding work.
Why do people think that they can mistreat others just because there is a pandemic?
It is frustrating.
The frustration takes hold and I find I just stare into space not always aware of what my thoughts are or if I am thinking at all. It is hard to push myself to do anything. Creativity seems to be eluding me. I have ideas for stories and things to try in my writing, but I can’t seem to start. It is as though the world is conspiring against us creative types (if I may call myself such).
All is not lost. When I am working with students, I find joy. And, I can think again, if only for the duration of the session. Still, I have something in those settings that many don’t – an antidote to the frustration and depression. I have the students who need my assistance. They learn, I coach, and we build relationships that are positive. It is not for me, it is for them. While those sessions are going, I feel young and healthy again. And, we can explore the world of ideas. And, we can build relationships. We can see more than the depressing situation that many of us find ourselves in.
It isn’t that COVID is gone or its effect not felt. Instead, it is the act of creating and learning and relating to each other that feeds our energy in the moment. It is a wonderful thing to experience. I wish we could experience it more. I wish others could experience it, too. It might help our collective spirit.
No, it would help our collective spirit – we need to focus on serving others, not ourselves. When we do, the challenges can be met – together.
It might not bring in more money. It might not eliminate the worry or the inability to pay all the bills. But, it might make the frustration less and might make the burden a little lighter.
Perhaps it doesn’t have to be so frustrating. We just need to think a little bit differently.
