Replace anger with understanding towards others

By now, life under the COVID-19 pandemic has become routine to some.

Every day life has become abiding by social distancing guidelines, not having access to your favorite stores, disinfecting and hand washing at every turn and not seeing your friends and loved ones regularly.

The fact that it is every day life, however, does not mean it’s easy. The longer the situation goes on with little improvement in sight, the harder it is to be patient with not only those making the decisions, but everyone we see every day.

More and more stories are emerging of people lashing out at one another for relatively mundane things. What was a minor setback has now become a situation where violence is threatened and in some of the worst cases, used.

The fact is, the ramifications of COVID-19 have hit everyone hard, some harder than others. We don’t know how it has affected each person. Your situation may be far different from your neighbor’s, even though you only live a few feet away.

Responding to a store clerk, a safety officer or just someone on the street with anger and impatience does no one any good. It further exacerbates your frustration and can create a domino effect.

We have been faced with uncertainty and terror for nearly three months now, which can and has worn on people. We have developed coping mechanisms and little ways to look forward to each day, but one of those should never be anger. It’s important to keep your patience with yourself and everyone around you. We’re all doing our best to get by and some are having a harder time than others. Do you your part to make sure their days don’t get harder.