Becoming my ‘brother’s keeper and my own keeper too’ was a journey that started about a year ago…
I got an email that would change life as I knew it… There were talks about it; it started out as whispers… then it got louder… and louder… as it spread worldwide.
Something was happening, and it was happening rapidly… at first it seemed so far away, I mean, it was only a month ago (February 2020) that I was traveling between countries freely…. without fear.
But then came the 9th of March 2020 and I was reading an email that made it all so real, so close, so scary… it was the first official Coronavirus Protocol at work. Before the end of the month, I began what has been my life for about a year now… I started working from home.
As I cleared my desk, somewhere in my heart, I knew I would not be back there for a while… I knew that the days to come were going to be uncertain and difficult… had never felt so alone and afraid. As scared as I was; I felt an enormous responsibility on my shoulder, to protect my family from what I could not even save myself from. To protect my colleagues and friends from something I did not even understand.
I did not want to lose anyone… but…
In the days to come, we lost so much… friends, colleagues, family, marriages, jobs, health, freedom and so much more…
Rising death statistics was the order of the day… there were so many questions with little or no answers.
It was a crippling season.
Do your part: Be your brother’s keeper
Pointing fingers and pushing blame did not make it go away… we had to work together, look after each other, try to save as many as we could… but we could not save all, and so many were painfully lost.
Today, we seem to know how to navigate this, but we are not safe… not until a good number of us (if not all) gets vaccinated. So, we walk and live with caution… to stay safe, if not for ourselves… then for the elderly and the vulnerable amongst us.
What this period has taken from us is unquantifiable, but it has brought us together and has reminded us to be our brother’s keeper.
Working from home… adjusting to feelings of loneliness, detachment and having to depend on regular calls from family and friends to feel connected (and sane), I realized humanity is nothing without togetherness; we need each other.
To lose one is a loss for all.
E
Do your part: Be your own keeper too.
Failing to look out for yourself, is to let us down, because we need you to stay healthy, we need you to be strong… failing to lookout for yourself is to put us at a disadvantage, we can only fight this if everyone is doing their part.
We have lost so much already. Do whatever it takes to ensure we do not lose you.
The battle is still on and you are my comrade in this fight.
So, look after your physical and mental health… take care of you as much as you can, for me and everyone around you.
All my love,
E.
