By Steven Michael Krystal | Featured Contributor
I have a friend, so do you,
We share laughs and smiles all day through,
For all of my life, telling me what to do,
A small voice from within, tried and true.
When we are kids, fun and play,
Days of bliss, all is okay,
As we grow up, things don’t go our way,
Life turns amiss, a steep price to pay.
By Anabel Geneta-Raymundo | Featured Contributor
In the midst of nowhere you arose,
Like a thief in the soundless night.
Unlocked entrances are now closed.
The world is enveloped with fright.
Your poison lingers everywhere.
Waiting for a susceptible target.
Both old and young hide in scare.
No one can escape your threat.
If you have been feeling increasingly down or depressed lately, you are not alone. Surveys worldwide have shown that the vast majority of people feel that the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant negative effect on their mental health and wellbeing—and it’s no surprise why. The stress of social isolation compounded with the daily onslaught of negative news—along with existing worries about health, work, and family life—is more than enough to trigger depression for the first time or exacerbate symptoms in those who have already been diagnosed.
No matter where you are in your journey, this article will provide some practical strategies that will help you counteract negative thoughts and feelings of loneliness while improving your mood and helping you feel less depressed.
Continue reading “Feeling Depressed? Coping with Depression during COVID”
By Felix Odhiambo | Featured Contributor
I have dreams of a better tomorrow.
Dreams
that we will hold hands
and dance with our feet.
We have won.
Dreams
that we will rejoice again and again
after the hollow we have had in our hearts.
Dreams
that the days we used to have
will come back.
And the sky will wash away our pains,
the stars will show us the way,
I am the dreamer,
but you and I form the dreams
I have seen tomorrow
with my eyes closed
I have felt it
with my heart beating
And now I have spoken
of my silent dreams,
That a day is yet to come,
we will no longer stay at home
We will hug our neighbors
and kiss our loved ones
We will no longer preach
of washing our hands with sanitizers
And not touching
our beautiful faces,
Life will give us a chance
to make merry like we used to
We will form crowds
and praise the living God
Every night I walk
on better dreams of tomorrow
And they are not
just faded dreams
A time is yet to come,
we will sing songs of Zion,
We have won.
And COVID will remain to be history.
◊
By Don P. | Guest Contributor
On April 28, 2007, my life as I knew it came to an abrupt halt and turned 180 degrees. I had a massive heart attack that day, and a triple bypass surgery the following day. To really make my story special, I then flat-lined over a hundred times during the next twelve or so days, and followed that with a very high drama heart transplant and a five day stint on ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and was conscious (to a degree) while on a ventilator—the single worst memory in my lifetime. (ECMO is a machine that is basically an artificial lung to oxygenate your blood while your lungs rest/heal).
A week after my heart transplant, I regained consciousness and started to rebuild my body and my life, and unbeknownst to me, I was placed in training for this coronavirus pandemic…
Continue reading “Thirteen Years of Training For A Pandemic”
By Cynthia Cady Stanton | Featured Contributor
When fear is everywhere,
take a breath.
Remind yourself that
as real as the fear feels,
it is a passing storm.
You can see it but
you don’t belong to it.
Remember that you
are not the weather.
You are the sky.
We can choose to be blown away
and knocked off our feet…
or we can choose
to have the compassionate
and wise view from above.
We can be observant
while holding on to
who we really are.
Only by holding fast
to the good in us –
our expansive being –
can we truly be helpful
or even present.
So, keep your eyes open
while patiently riding it out.
Don’t allow yourself to get knocked over
or sucked into the whirlwind.
Be ever-present and calm
just like the blue sky
which endures every storm.
◊
Thank you, Cynthia, for these beautiful and timely words.
Wishing everyone a blessed day.
🌷
By Forrest Rivers | Featured Author
The year was 2020.
The world was plagued by a pandemic
that inflicted mass casualties
across the land.
But set against this backdrop
of death, fear and deprivation,
A movement of higher consciousness
was well underway.
Driven into isolation
to control the deadly virus,
Citizens of the world
came to have gratitude
for all the little things
they had taken for granted:
Smiles from passing strangers,
Sentimental hugs,
Uplifting time spent with
dear friends and family
And the sweet joys of
live song and dance
Were all things sorely
missed and remembered
Nostalgically….
