How we react to the deep distress that the Covid pandemic has caused can bring us to a feeling of overwhelming despondency or to a realisation that we are much more than our circumstances.
The darkest of clouds roiled in, faster than you could imagine. One second it was glorious sunlight, the next dark and threatening. Thunder boomed its deep warnings and thin-stripped tentacles of lightening grabbing at unseen things in the sky.
I stood at the window watching the power of nature show its full force. A small figure crept up behind me, tentatively taking hold of my hand. My son, then still a toddler, was searching for a place of comfort in the face of the torrent outside.
With my little one cuddling in my lap, the two of us sat at the window, watching the trees bend to almost breaking point, listening to the wind screaming its warnings.
I could feel his small body tremble every time the lightening ripped open the sky. We talked about what we could do about feeling small and scared. Let’s laugh in the face of the lightening, I suggested.
At the next flash I tilted my head back and laughed as loudly as I could. My son joined in, still a little wobbly, a little shaky, but in control of what was happening. We laughed and laughed until the storm died down.
Finding comfort
I didn’t know it then, but that little episode has stood us in good stead over the years.
When things happen that are beyond our control, that are shocking, even terrifying, we try as hard as we can to get out of the fear of the unknown, of the shock, of the anxiety. We do it by laughing in the face of the lightening.
Laughter doesn’t change your circumstances, but it does change how you feel about those circumstances – it helps you to cope. It wraps around you like a protective cloak, providing comfort and a little bit of security.
During this dreadful Covid pandemic, many things have been taken out of our control – our ability to work, our movements, our sense of security, our feeling of well-being. We don’t know what to expect.
What we can control is how we react. We can embrace our families and friends, we can be compassionate to those in the greatest need and fear, we can celebrate our humanness. And we can laugh. And in laughing, we can remember, that like the storm and the lightening, this too will eventually pass.
Jennifer Tennant
alstarlife.blog 