c o v e r s t o r y
30-A Standing Strong: The Gift of COVID-19 b y M i k e R a g s d a l e
L ast year, what if I had told you that when warm weather finally rolled around, you would enjoy an entire month of “staycation” at home? No commute. No office. No excruciating staff meetings. Spend spring at home instead. The only catch? You can’t leave the house. Many of us would have been absolutely ecstatic to learn such news. What an incredible gift! You mean I can finally catch up on all those little projects around the house? I can finally take up meditation and start my daily exercise routine? No more errands to run. I can play with the kids. I can try out those new recipes I’ve been stockpiling. I’ll finally have time to go for bike rides and sunset strolls in my neighborhood. I can FaceTime with my relatives and play video games with my friends. I can read all those books that have been piling up and collecting dust on my shelf. I can do whatever I want—I simply have to stay at home. Of course, no one expected or wanted a global pandemic to come crashing down into our brand, shiny new decade. People’s lives
circumstances will be remembered as a very special moment. It will be remembered as a transformative era, during which many of us emerged stronger, healthier, happier; and dare I add, more connected. Think of the grade schoolers who suddenly found themselves free from the perceived shackles of their classrooms. They’re spending their newfound freedom running around in the yard with the dog. They’re playing video games with their friends. They’re spending time with their mom, dad, and siblings. I suspect that six months from now, those young spirits will be yearning for another free month at home with mom and dad. These days spent in quarantine with you could very well become some of their fondest childhood memories. “Mom, remember when we were all locked up together in the house for that whole month? That was so much fun. Remember that night dad burned the cookies? Remember when we would all sit around and play Monopoly? Why don’t we do that anymore? I sure wish we could do that again.” Perspective is a funny thing. One person’s
Mike Ragsdale
Photo by Jake Meyer
have been turned completely upside down or worse. No one wanted this crisis. But a pandemic is what we’ve got to deal with—not just as individuals or as communities or even as a nation. For perhaps the first time in human history, our entire planet has been confronted with a single common enemy. So far, I’m pretty proud of humanity’s response. We’re fighting this together, by staying apart. Even so, this is a Cat 5 health and economic hurricane, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. And yet, what an incredible gift we’ve all been given, the most precious of all: time. Whether you’re in good or poor health, if you’re reading this right now, you’ve already received that gift. How you’re using it is up to you. Are you spending your precious gift worrying about what might or might not happen in the days ahead? Are you spending it arguing with people online who don’t share your perspective of world events? Are you glued to a screen, waiting for the next troubling headline to scroll by? Are you spending it complaining about the things you can’t have or can’t do right now? Or are you savoring this truly extraordinary moment? Are you using it to reconnect with your spouse, children, parents, siblings, and friends? Are you taking advantage of this gift to transform yourself into a better human being?
nightmare is another person’s wildest fantasy come true. Hopefully by the time you read this, the stay-at- home orders have been lifted or will be soon. Hopefully our beaches are open once again. Hopefully our restaurants, shops, and businesses are starting on the long path toward recovery. Hopefully you and your family are healthy and happy. If you reflect for a moment now and feel pretty darn good about how you’ve spent the last couple of months, that’s really fantastic. You’ve leveled-up as a human being. You’re more connected to your family. You’ve probably developed better hygiene habits, strengthened your immune system, and developed a deeper understanding of just how interconnected we all are. On the other hand, if you look back and now feel as though you totally squandered your no-expenses-paid staycation, that’s okay too. That’s the wonderful thing about receiving the gift of time. You get a new shipment every single day. What you do with today’s delivery is up to you. Mike Ragsdale is founder of The 30A Company. Inspired by a two-lane road that meanders along Florida’s Gulf Coast, 30A shares eco-friendly products and stories that celebrate our small beach town way of life.
Months from now, as this global crisis
inevitably wanes, will you look back and be proud of how you spent your days at home?
Happiness is a choice. The Declaration of Indepen- dence doesn’t guarantee us happiness. It offers us the pursuit of happiness. Whether you choose to chase after happiness is 100% up to you. Will you look back on your days in quarantine as happy ones, or as days that were consumed with fear, depression, and anxiety? Months from now, as this global crisis inevitably wanes, will you look back and be proud of how you spent your days at home? Or will you feel as though you squandered a rare opportunity? For many, COVID-19 will become an excuse for why their 2020 sucked. And yet for others, these strange
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