Look for the Good - During a Global Pandemic
“There is more good than bad in the world.”
I have said this to my children often over the years. It comes up when someone has been “mean” to them, when they have been scared to go to sleep at night, when something horrific has happened at a school or at a mall. It works in lots of situations. I say it to them and I say it to myself - I mean it and I truly believe it.
Good is there - you just need to look for it.
Earlier this year, I found out about Look for the Good Project, Inc. from a neighbor. This non-profit’s mission “is to make America kind, one school at a time.” Being a former elementary school teacher, I immediately found this appealing and knew the value it would have for students. Look for the Good Project, Inc. focuses on highlighting the positive benefits of gratitude, not only in children, but all people. I signed my family up to volunteer to help with organizing their mailings for school programs this past January and I later met up with the founder, Anne Kubitsky, to learn about other ways I could be involved.
A couple weeks ago, Anne asked me to write an article that would fit in with “Look for the Good Week” which started yesterday. I was more than happy to help promote a week of sharing gratitude with the people we love. Anne allowed me lots of freedom with my article. I approached it with the idea of sharing some ways that our family has found “good” during this time of Covid-19. Keep in mind, we have had lots of ups and downs in our home and this article focuses on the positive - i.e. the good. :)
How do you “look for the good” during a worldwide pandemic, like Covid-19?
Aside from participating in Look for the Good Week, the best way I find good is through connections.
We have found the good in our lives over the past 8 weeks through our Connections to Self, Home, Neighborhood/Community, and Extended Family/Friends.
Connecting to Self
Self care is always essential, and it’s even more crucial right now. Pausing, giving yourself grace when things feel hard, and taking time to be alone [especially if you are in a house with a bigger family] is so important.
I’ve done a few things to take care of myself during the stay at home orders. I have been rediscovering old hobbies like going through old photos and organizing them for albums, gardening, and making time for reading. Practicing and learning new camera skills has also helped ground me. Continuing my daily routine of running and attending my virtual exercise classes helps me to start the day with a positive attitude. I have explored the benefits of meditation, but haven't quite gotten into the habit yet. One thing I have always loved to do is spoil people I know with little signs of appreciation or gratitude. Putting together a small gift basket for my sister’s family at Easter and sending flowers to the owner of my gym are two things I did that made them smile and made me feel good, too.
Self-care for kids has also been encouraged in this house. When they are “bored” [oh, how I don’t want to hear that word anymore!] I encourage them to go with it and see what they can come up with to do. This is a great time for them to get creative, try a new hobby, play a new game, read a new book, sit outside and listen to the birds chirp and just be alone with themselves and their thoughts. Meditation has also shown great benefits for children. Some of the things my kids have been doing include: spending time in their rooms alone, going for bike rides by themselves and together, playing video games, writing in journals, and baking treats. I’m trying to embrace them doing these things even if (when) they make messes to go along with them.
What are you doing to take care of you, to look inside and see the good in you?
Connecting in the Home
We have three tween/teen kids and two adults living under one roof. That’s five different personalities, three different school schedules, two work schedules, and a whole bunch of different wants, needs, and responsibilities. Things can get hectic even during a pandemic. Scrolling through social media can sometimes make one feel like they can’t keep up. Perfect dinners, craft hour, family game night, getting a new puppy, etc. etc. etc. But let’s be real. There is just no way that the rest of the world is having a perfect, fun time at home all the time.
Our days are far from perfect. There are arguments, there are work conflicts, and even the occasional sulk (or more than occasional). Sometimes these moments have left me feeling like we don’t connect as a family even though the pandemic has forced us to be together all the time. When I look back at these weeks at home, though, I am reminded of the little things we have done to connect as a family. One thing that I love so, so much - we have gone for loads of walks. We used to do this all the time when our kids were little and I am thankful that we have been doing them again. We have played weekly trivia as a team with an online group. We have spent more time cooking and baking in the kitchen. I even planned out a surprise “High Tea” to mimic an experience we had last year in Victoria, B.C. That one was definitely more elaborate, but the goal is to find simple ways to connect with your family. It doesn't need to be super time consuming and it doesn’t need to be all day long, every single day.
When you “look for the good” in your home, what does it look like?
Connecting in the Neighborhood/Community
The current pandemic has also brought out more positivity and good in our neighborhood, too. People are sharing helpful info on our neighborhood group about which restaurants are open, how to make your own or buy face masks, where to find toilet paper and how we can support local small businesses. Remember those walks I just mentioned? So many people are out walking, biking and enjoying our community’s open spaces. There are “Bear Hunts” for kids, painted rocks with positive messages placed around to be found, and rainbows in windows, to name a few more. Also, from at least 6 feet away, you can stop to say hello to neighbors you may not see as often as in “normal” times.
One thing I started in our neighborhood was #thefrontstepsproject. The Front Steps Project was started recently in Needham, MA by a photographer, Cara Soulia. I was immediately interested in participating in this project because it blends together two things that I love - photographing families at home AND helping others. Through this initiative, our neighbors have supported about a dozen local charities over the past couple months by participating in this project.
What could you do to strengthen your connection to your neighborhood or community?
Connecting to Friends & Family
For us, this pandemic has also provided an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family near and far. We are originally from New Jersey and still have ties there. Although we keep in touch throughout the year with comments or “likes” on social media, we don’t connect in person unless we travel there. Because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, we are having virtual meetups with these faraway friends and family members. Sometimes they are weekly, sometimes monthly, sometimes we play online games together and sometimes we just say hi and look at each other because we don’t have anything new to say. My kids are also connecting with their local classmates, teammates and cousins through facetime, online calls and playing video games together. Another way to connect with people is with letters or packages in the mail. A friend of ours in NJ actually mailed my husband and I “His” and Hers” packages of chips that she saw us eating during our virtual call. Such a simple thing but so sweet and appreciated!
Is there anyone you can connect with or send a little surprise to?
So, how can we “look for the good”, and find it, during a worldwide pandemic?
If we can connect to ourselves, connect to our homes, connect to our friends and neighbors and to our community, it’s a great start.
Share Some Good
What are some ways that you can look for the good, connect or share good things with those around you? This idea to share some good was inspired by a New England photographer named Heidi Hope. She shared a youtube video showing how to create a “wings of hope” mural. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44G4rIK2tc8
I loved this idea right away and finally took the time to make it happen. I’d love to say that my kids helped me with making the feathers and putting the wings together, but they didn’t. This was definitely me connecting with myself and my creative side. Once I had the wings created, I taped them up on my garage door and took some fun pictures with them. Then, I let my neighborhood know that the wings were available to pose with and enjoy. My hope is that it gives neighbors something interesting to see while out on a walk and it gives neighbors something fun to share with their own families and friends. My hope is that it gives people hope - hope that things will get better, that we will get through this and that there is more good than bad in the world.
You can do this, too!
Steps to create your own wings mural:
1. Watch Heidi’s video.
2. FInd colorful paper [for the feathers & something to create a backing to tape them too.]
3. Make the feathers [you can make a pattern OR just cut out a lot of feathers.]
4. Tape the feathers together to look like a set of wings. [I used poster paper as a backing and I made a rainbow design with my colors but you don’t have to.]
5. Tape the wings up to a solid background.
6. Take photos and enjoy!