Silver Linings

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis

(written April of 2020)

As we put a pause on the negative rhetoric about the Coronavirus, we can start looking for the silver linings. I am not for a moment saying we don’t take this seriously, but I do get accused of being a Pollyanna when it comes to my articles. So we can agree that this is dangerous, serious, ominous, and life-threatening, but it is my nature to look on the bright side, and there are encouraging consequences.

For example, I’d never heard of the app Marco Polo. When my kids and grandkids suggested I join, I could only remember playing the tag game at the swimming pool. It was fun! As it turns out, the modern version is a video chat that allows you to talk face to face with everyone in your private group. I have heard more from my grandkids in the last week than in the previous year! And it makes me feel very loved and techy!

I see people coming together in powerful ways. I see kindness and caring everywhere. When I did get to the grocery store, shoppers were self-regulating the six-foot rule, and many smiles and kind words of recognition of our collective plight were shared. There is a new sen sitivity for others. People are thinking of ways to support local businesses. Appreciation of our healthcare workers is in full bloom. Other companies are learning that their employees can work from home and be just as productive. Families are spending more time together, playing games, and being creative. Acts of kindness are increasing faster than the virus! We can only hope some of this will continue long after the pandemic has ended.

“Our happiness is certainly mixed in with the tragedies of life . You have to find the lemonade . You have to find the silver lining in the middle of everything that happens in life . – Chandra Wilson