No Nonsense!

Dignity and Determination and....

Why don't we just stop all the nonsense or at least ignore it? I was searching for an analogy for what is presently happening around this whole vaccine thing. I am sure most people have had this experience. Your flight has just landed and the plane is now parked on the tarmac. Just as the seatbelt sign goes off, and maybe a few seconds before, 80 % of the passengers either stand up and wait impatiently at their seats ( locked in with their necks bent in an awkward position under the overhead luggage compartments) or, for those close to the aisle, start pushing their way into a nonsensical line while reaching for their inaccessible luggage. To tell you the truth, as a fellow human being with a brainstem that is wired just like everyone else's, I have to encourage the reasonable, higher centres of my brain to over ride the urge to stand. Sometimes, the urge to stand is so strong that I find myself standing before reason prevails and I sit down. It's a natural response to want, no, need to be first in line. It's a survival instinct but sometimes it's just plain nuts and serves no useful purpose. The jostling, pushing, shoving and all around uncivilized rudeness does not get you out of the airport any faster. How many times have I stood beside the worst of the 'line' bullies waiting at the luggage carousal for luggage that is not even off the plane and how many times have I been out of the airport before they are? Here's my point. It is much more stressful on your mind, body and soul if you push your way to the front of the line especially if you do that at the expense of someone else's spot. Your blood pressure goes up, your heart rate goes up, you start to sweat all of which are bad things to do when you've just descended from a high altitude. Trust me. It's physiologically bad for you. And, unless you are a sociopath, somewhere deep down inside you feel a little bit of shame for putting yourself and your needs first. Shame is a powerful and damaging emotion. Trust me on that one too. All that physical and emotional stress does nothing to get you further ahead. In fact, you are harming yourself for no justifiable positive outcome. There are enough stressors out there. We don't need to intentionally add to them. I was raised to put others first. That's not a moral high ground although some may think it is. That's actually better for me and so much better for everyone around me. When I stand back and let the weak and vulnerable, those most at risk 'go' first, they are better off and I give myself a huge dose of endorphins which are hormones that lower my blood pressure, relieve me of stress and give my mood a healthy boost. If people must bicker and complain about which country is out front on vaccine delivery and who has been designated to get the vaccine first so be it but I am going to make a healthy choice to not listen. The world is hard enough and dark enough right now. We just don't need all the negative energy. Hunker down. Follow the guidelines. Be still. Focus on the good and trust the public health experts and every vaccine task force that are making these difficult decisions. This is a very good time to turn off the news. All we need to know is that there is a dangerous virus out there that is causing chaos, illness and death which you can avoid by being meticulous with mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. Locked down is the safest way to be at this time. We live in a country that is wealthy enough to purchase millions of vaccine doses that will be available to everyone in the upcoming months. Being vaccinated when the rest of the population is not immune is fairly useless to an individual. None of us are safe until 70 % are immune. The fact that these vaccines exist at all is a massive, massive blessing. They will rescue us an then, we should turn our attention to the back of the line; the resource poor countries who have no hope of vaccinating their populations without the help of the resource rich countries and, mark my words as my mother used to say, the world will not be safe for any of us until we all have access to these vaccines. Nursing homes, congregate settings, front line workers, health care teams in hospitals, emergency rooms and ICU's...these folks go first. Whose next remains to be seen. I am glad to just be somewhere on the Canadian vaccine list. Be patient and kind, people. WE WILL OVERCOME. WE WILL OVERCOME, INDEED. Anne-Marie Please share........and don't forget....so many people are struggling financially and emotionally. If you can, give to local charities that are supporting people in need. Hope House, the Food Bank, the Guelph Community Foundation to name a few. For mental health support here: https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/ For local assistance with anxiety and depression: www.here4help.ca CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca. And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk https://good2talk.ca/ For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/ And if you'd like to help Bracelet of Hope work towards making sure that Lesotho has access to these vaccines, donate here: https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-