There are usually gifts to be found during our most difficult challenges - and there are gifts for us an individuals and as a nation.
If you think back on many of your toughest challenges - you can probably think of something you learned about life or about yourself as you navigated through that challenge. Sometimes the lessons - the gifts - as small and incidental - but the gifts can be big and change our lives.
A simple picture posted on my SOTA Facebook page yesterday reflects the type of gift you may find during the coronavirus crisis. During my afternoon exercise walk - I stopped to take a picture of me smelling the jasmine that was cascading over a brick wall in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
During the stay-at-home and social distancing mandates - I have stayed out of the exercise room in my apartment building and have been getting exercise by walking. The isolation I feel as I walk through the French Quarter streets is giving me an opportunity to notice things I may not have noticed if my life had not been changed so dramatically.
Since it is an exercise walk - it's a fast and determined walk - but the absence of people, cars and noise allow me to see things that may have been a blur as I walked. My walk is fast - but I realize that my brain has changed. I have always loved the scent of Jasmine and when I saw the Jasmine in front of me I stopped to enjoy the simple act of smelling the flowers.
The cliche - “Take time to stop and smell the roses” - is a suggestion that we miss much of what life offers during our fast-paced lives, and the phrase is reflective of the idea that we all take time to enjoy everything in life.
Maybe it will not be stopping to smell the jasmine or roses - but I do believe that this unprecedented pause in most of our lives will offer gifts if we take time to find them.
Haven’t you noticed something about yourself - your family - your friends - your life - that you embrace as a new discovery? Are there things that you have come to notice and enjoy that you will carrying with you when your life returns to normal - even if it is a new normal?
Being distracted by the harsh reality of this national crisis - the gifts offered may not be obvious. You might have to seek them out of the grave disruption you are dealing with right now. But find them because the gifts are there.