While meditating, this morning my spirit was quickened with the following adage: “old habits die hard!” In retrospect, I recall hearing these very words from my dear mother (may she RIH). For those who maybe unfamiliar with this phrase, it means it is hard to stop doing things one has been doing for a long time. You may be among those people who are often reluctant to changing their way of doing something, especially if you are accustomed to the way you have done things for years. Well, I am one who generally embrace change, but do not advocate radical change for various reasons.
In my opinion, 2020 came in roaring like a lion with upheaval and vast changes to our daily lives. Earlier this year, Mississippians experienced historic and unprecedented flooding with heavy rains causing widespread devastation to infrastructure, homes and businesses which warranted a State of Emergency Declaration. A few weeks ago, many tornadoes devasted numerous communities, homes, businesses, roads, and other infrastructure. By the way, as I write this blog, more threatening weather is on the horizon. Now couple all of this with the many adverse impacts created by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past months. All of this can be a bit much or overwhelming even for people, like myself, who has strong faith and know God is in total control of everyone and everything.
Considering the major, adverse impacts from the recent historic flooding, record-breaking tornadoes over the Easter weekend, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it has given me and perhaps you pause to self-reflect. As the world come to grips with COVID-19, I am grateful for many, many things. So, if or when things get back to normal, I choose to not dwell on things I cannot change and focus on things I can. For example, my changing perspective and being grateful has benefitted me well during these turbulent times. Generally, to deal with all of this, I spend most of my time praying and meditating, reading, relaxing, and sanitizing. Also, I am honing my cooking skills to create healthier meals for a better me. On the flip side, I do miss frequent outings at eateries with family and friends, and the hustle/bustle of mall shopping. I do not mind the extra spacing mandate for physical/social distancing (6-feet minimum) but I do miss workouts at my neighborhood gym with others and enjoying outdoor recreational activities with family and friends. Not to be misunderstood, I do understand and continuously apply physical/social distancing for safety and health reasons. For personal reasons, I continue to hope and pray that all recreational events, such as football games, are not sidelined/cancelled due to COVID-19. For football seasons serve as quality time and recreation for my family in the fall. Further, I pray that the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will go off without a hitch in 2020 and thereafter. Hopefully, there will soon be a resolve to the COVID-19 crisis.
In closing, reality is we have now entered a new era of profound changes due to COVID-19, whether temporarily or long-term. During these trying times, I do believe in God’s grace and mercy is sufficient. To that end, I am mindful it is a new day—a new year—a new decade—living in a new age. Being cautiously optimistic, I continue to pray for better days ahead as I listen to Sam Cooke’s infamous, soulful song “A Change Is Gonna Come”. Indeed, change has come!!!! #BePrayerfulKeepTheFaithAndStayConnected
Yours truly,
/s/ Gala D. S. Goldsmith
AMPED, LLC President/CEO
