How are you feeling?  No, really, how do you feel? Happy?  Sad? Depressed? Healthy? Confused? Polarized?  It is perfectly OK to have any and all of the feelings you are having, AND it is perfectly OK for everyone else to have their feelings and beliefs too.  Everyone in your family, everyone you work with, and everyone on your FB feed and on twitter.  Everyone.

Imagine you are on a track.  You, know, like a running track at the high school.  Then there are all the different lanes.  Each lane has hurdles set up in different places.  One lane is the “this virus is real” lane, and next to you is the “this is the flu” lane.  You’ve got the mask wearers and no mask lanes.  You’ve got the conspiracy theory lane, and all of the political lanes (yep, it’s a big track).  The one thing we all have in common is that we are on the same track.  Right now, this is the track of fear.  The reason people are so very vocal, and so adamant about what they believe, is because of fear.

This virus is real fear means it could kill me or people I love.

This virus is the flu fear means I don’t want my life to be any different than it already is.

I am going to wear a mask fear means I fear getting sick or making others sick.

I am going to protest against wearing a mask fear means I don’t want my freedoms to be taken away.

I believe the conspiracy theories fear means something in my life has to change.

The other political party is wrong fear means I don’t trust them because they are going to ruin my life.

Fear.  The opportunities this fear ultimately offers us is a better world. Within the polarization we all are feeling is a heightened awareness of the differences we all are facing and feeling.

This is a time of tremendous change and transformation.  This is an opportunity for growth.   We all are going to go through this either kicking and screaming or willingly with joy.  Sometimes the planet and humanity needs to be rebalanced or reset.  Our 2019 global pandemic is the silver tray offering all of humanity this gift of regeneration and rebirth.  Contractions are scary and painful, but worth it in the end.

Now, you get to decide who you want to be while we go through this.  There is no right or wrong, there just IS. And the choice is yours.  This is free will.

Eventually, what I imagine, is that our track team, competing against each other, jumping over all of our individual hurdles, will never stop running towards a brighter future.  But what we will do is realize that while we are all on the same track of fear, we can help each other.

Eventually, our race will turn into a relay, and then we will all be racing in a peloton so that each person gets the benefit of the other.  But…to get everyone in the race, we first have to let everyone run in their own lane.