Senses Overload
Peggy Zortman
Coronavirus! Tornados! Floods! Shortages! Critical needs! Desperate situations! Confusion! Death! FEAR!
I hear the talking heads. Television displays storm damage. I view people covered in plastic HAZMAT gear. There are death counts and word of fast spreading illness. Hoarders and opportunists revile me. Greed is rampant. I read charts, and opinions on social media. I listen to news (or is it?) I try to sort truth from rumor or just plain lies. I can’t do it… I can’t.
I turn off all electronics; wring out a cool cloth for my eyes and retreat to my favorite chair with a wish to recharge my overloaded brain. I lean back; close my eyes and travel into my imagination looking for my happy place.
It’s there…a comfortable Adirondack chair on the green bank of a beautiful lake. The dappled shade of a large old oak lets the warm sun flicker over my tired eyes. The only sounds are the sweet songs of happy birds punctuated with the occasional rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker and the regular lap-lap-lap of waves on the shore.
A deep breath carries the musky aroma of the nearby wet woodlands, the fishy smell of the water, fresh mown lawn… and someone is grilling steak.
I remain in my retreat for only five minutes or so; but when I open my eyes I see…
Sunshine, people helping people, problems being solved… HOPE!
The talking heads are still there, the disasters, pandemic and lies are still there; but now I can seek the truth. Now I can face what is to come and maybe find a way to be part of the solution.
It’s okay to go your happy place when the world becomes too much to handle. If you don’t have a happy place simply sit back and close your eyes for a few moments. Listen to your favorite music or to children laughing. Pet your dog or cat or hamster. Just take a time-out. You have intelligence. You have imagination. You have determination and I pray you make time.