…my favorite punctuation. It conveys to the reader that there’s more to come. The ending has perhaps yet to be written. It’s an invitation to slow it down. To give pause. To reconsider. To regroup. To allow. To fill in the blank. To imagine. To create. To grieve. To celebrate. It allows space to ponder what has happened , while wondering what is yet to come.
This pandemic has turned our world upside down, leaving my world filled with dot, dot,dots. There seem to be few things within the fabric of my daily life that end with an emphatic period …other than menopause?.!#@%
The question mark may perhaps be a close second and the exclamation, a real contender! There are so many changes to life’s 2020 rule book, the new edition filled with more questions than answers. More expletives than simple statements. Where is my mask? What are my risks? Should we go there? Can we touch that? Why can’t we all get along? Have we always been so divisive? I thought we were friends, not enemies? Why can’t our Congress just do their f…ing job? How can our economy survive another shut down? How can our hospitals and healthcare workers survive the onslaught if we don’t? Why isn’t healthcare a right? Who can survive on this nation’s minimum wage? How can we ask small businesses to bear so much while we bail out corporations right and left?
I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU SUPPORT THAT! I align with this! You are wrong and I am right! OH, AND NEWSFLASH, the germ theory is no longer a theory! Germs outnumber human cells in our bodies 10 to 1!! Look it up! Wash your hands! WTF! Oh, and there’s more…when you buy one expletive, we’ll throw in a second for only $2.99! And for our most loyal customers…you get a heart attack and hypertensive crisis for free! Just call the toll free number on the screen in the next 5 minutes.
1-800-WHATSNEXT
Calm down Lisa. Back away from the ALL CAPS writing. Put down your weapon…find your happy place…summon your inner dot,dot,dot…breathe…
My goal is to become more of a dot,dot,dot person. It allows me to think before I speak…to interrupt less and listen more… to discuss more and orate less…to be open to differences…to see things from others’ perspective…to remember and honor those now gone, who’ve played a vital role in my existence…to take a deep breath and tell myself…it’s OK. Let it go…we will get through this together…life may be cruel and unpredictable, yet filled with unbelievable compassion.
Some days suck, others filled with hope. Some days bring nothing but feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness, while others remind us of our own unique gifts just waiting to be given, our potential for greatness on some small scale. Some days are celebratory , some only sprinkled with moments of joy…but there’s always something just waiting to be thanked, appreciated, cherished. We just need to slow down and look for those people or things or spirits that are worthy of thankfulness…they surround us!
We are all on this wild ride together, whether we like it or not. This is our planet to respect or destroy. This is our nation to uphold or pilfer. This is our pandemic to deal with or ignore. It will eventually be an historical era, past tense. Just as our generation will fade, making way for the future present tense. Time marches on…Doesn’t it? IT DOES!
Yes, indeed, dot,dot,dot…it does…