Everyone is saying that they can’t wait until everything goes back to normal and it has me thinking:

Was normal working? What have we learned from the pandemic? How can we do better moving forward?

Was normal working?

Twenty Nineteen was the second hottest year ever recorded.

Just in Twenty Nineteen:

The earth struggled with many devastating wildfires. Fires spread through The Amazon Rainforest, Australia, California, Lebanon, Indonesia, and Russia to name a few.

Wildfires are a natural part of nature, but climate change is causing them to be more frequent and more intense.

Glaciers all over the globe are melting rapidly with increases reported in 2019.

Greenhouse gas emissions hit an all-time high.

Ocean life is suffering due to large amounts of trash being dumped into the oceans. Oceans are also warmer than they’ve ever been which causes more intense hurricanes and throws off marine migration which also forces sea life to leave their home in search of cooler waters.

The Midwest went through a Polar Vortex making the season colder than Alaska, Serbia, and Antarctica. Alaska canceled its Willow 300 sled dog race because it was too warm!

This doesn’t even scratch the surface…

What have we learned from the Pandemic?

I feel the Pandemic is the Earth telling us we need to stop. It’s had enough and rightly so.

Humans as a whole have become majorly self-centered, money-hungry, and completely devoid of morals.

Parasites.

The pandemic has shaken things up and has reminded us how valuable life is. It’s made us realize how little we actually need to survive.

It’s made us get creative while we’re home and has made us restructure our daily lives.

It has made us more human.

We now think twice before leaving the house. What’s our game plan? Do we really need that package of crackers? Do I have my mask and sanitizer?

We don’t want to put others in harm’s way and we don’t want ourselves or our family to get sick either.

I am sad that it has taken a global pandemic for the Earth to start healing.

Since the time the pandemic started and we all started staying home, the Earth is breathing again.

Wildlife is thriving. Air pollution is clearing. There is hope for the future of our planet.

How can we do better moving forward?

I think we all need to ask ourselves and really reflect: Was I happy with what normal was? How has my life improved since the pandemic started?

What lessons have I learned from all of this?

The statement “One person can make a difference” has shown itself to be true. One person contracted COVID-19 and look at the results.

If one person takes a stand to come out of this a new person with a renewed lease on life and decides to do what they can to help the Earth, imagine what will happen.

We all have the power to make a difference and this pandemic has been the wake-up call humans have sorely needed.

Instead of slipping back into what we used to consider normal, maybe we should continue the new habits we’ve discovered in this period of staying home.

Ask yourself:

What changes have I made in my life recently?

What have I learned from the Pandemic?

What do I want to do differently moving forward?

How can I help others make a difference?

Always remember one person can make a difference. Let’s use this new experience as a teacher. We can say that we’ve lived through a Pandemic. I know it’s not over yet and the end isn’t really in sight, but we are surviving. We are growing as humans.

As I mentioned above, we’re becoming more creative. We’re finding new ways to be together while physically apart. We’re adapting to our new situation and I feel like we needed this.

I feel for those who have lost their loved ones and those who are fighting for their lives. This is a serious situation and we need to take it seriously. I feel like as we go through this and as we adapt we can grow and let it mold us into better people. Not that you or I were bad before, but life is all about learning and growing and expanding.

Normal wasn’t working. Let’s come out of this as better humans create a new normal and care for our planet together.

Stay safe out there.