James Corden says “It’s all OK” and he’s right
Hello pausers old and new, and Happy Friday! Happy Good Friday actually. It’s ‘day off’ for most of us here in Canada – irony noted. A notable day as it’s the first statutory holiday (I believe) since COVID-19 turned things kinda sideways for all of us in a variety of ways. Humungous shout-out to the frontlines: Thank. You. Forever!
On this particular day, I looked forward to ‘taking a break’ from routine, however I kept my Friday morning blocked for a pause, as I always do. I guess you could say I’m taking a break from all of my duties, except one: my scheduled break. Yay me! If you’ve read my earlier posts, you know that I’ve committed to carving out and protecting this ‘pause’ time every week, with no excuses. So here’s the outcome of my latest pause…
I had just completed my newly-adapted gym workout in the comfort of my backyard, and was just about to settle in at my desk to write. What was I going to write about today? I wanted to avoid going down the COVID path. There just wasn’t anything for me to say really that was of any value to others.
I had made notes on my phone throughout the week relating to thoughts and potential topics I could draw from if necessary. FYI, I’ve assembled quite a pile of ideas over the past months that I could use. ‘Pile’ being the operative word. I always try to be in the moment when I pause and go with whatever comes, I think that’s serendipity, and so far so good. Another thing I try to do is make it timely, while timeless. Not easy, but doable and important in creating good blogging content. I learned that at Blog school. Seriously.
And then it happened.
Emanating from my wife Simone’s home office was pretty much my favourite song from my favourite play. Yup, I love me some Broadway, especially of the musical persuasion. The unmistakable voice of Ben Platt singing You Will Be Found from the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.
Corny? Mushy? Fucking right! But hey, it happened and I caught that wave, dude.
I quickly recognized that it wasn’t the original Broadway recording I was accustomed to hearing, but something slightly more raw, slightly better in my opinion. “What are you listening to?” I asked, and got up not awaiting an answer. Simone rarely can hear me when she’s blasting the tunes on her computer. I made my way around her desk and looked over her shoulder and here’s what I saw, sent to my wife from my daughter isolating out East, in Halifax:
Wow. Thank you Ben Platt and co. You all made my day great. Or should I say just ‘all OK’.
Isn’t art amazing? In any form? Aren’t humans amazing when they come together to make other humans cope with a difficult situation? This 6-minute YouTube speaks for itself, or should I say the inimitable James Corden does. Have a look here. (Not a fan? I can respect that. Read on.)
After I dried my eyes – don’t judge, it’s a vulnerable time – I can’t tell you how it just made everything ok for me, today. Even better, I had my blog post!
The pandemic situation right now is a scary and even terrifying thing. Thinking about everything that’s happening, and changing, every day exposes an unprecedented vulnerability for us all, causing each one of us to have moments of fear and anxiety, including a celebrity and ambassador of joy and fun like James Corden. And when you feel these bad feelings, it’s OK. Feel them and accept them. Be ok with the bad. This too shall pass.
Now back to me. You know the drill.
Has COVID-19 affected me and my family? Of course it has, and that’s all I need to say about that because right now it really doesn’t matter. What I will share is this: as someone who has struggled with anxiety for most of my life, I have assembled an arsenal of coping methods. I am also self-employed, work from home, and don’t typically get out much as it is. All this to say, it turns out I’m well equipped for pandemics. And I couldn’t be more thankful! Crazy, I know… and pun intended.
I consider myself fortunate for what I have all around me. All you pausers included! I am confident in it being OK, because I accept it, often, and whenever it happen, I struggle through, and then accept it… until the next time.
Is it ok for everyone? Absolutely not, and I hope I can find a way to help make it acceptable for whomever I can. I guess that’s a big part of why I’m sharing this post.
Let’s get through this, people, and stay social – although distanced.
Stay home and stay safe. I’m here if you need me
SP Wiseguy out.