100+ Ways to Find Relief, Comfort, and Meaning During the Pandemic

Did you thoughtfully list your 2020 New Year’s resolutions and set big goals at the end of 2019?

If you’re someone who plans ahead, you paid your final deposit on that cruise to the Panama Canal, or set the date for your March birthday party, booked your flight to attend your friend’s June wedding in Spain, or bought your tickets to see Hamilton. Perhaps you met with your church committee to plan the Easter Egg Hunt or registered to attend that motivational retreat in Vermont.

But the unbelievable happened, and…

All.Your.Plans.Changed.

No matter where you were in the world in March 2020, you faced a new problem that made you pivot, swerve, or completely abandon those resolutions, at least the way you saw them playing out.

You were shaken, startled, and terrified by something too tiny to see with the naked eye.

You quickly shuffled your priorities.

You wanted to feel safe

Unless you’re a doomsday prepper and therefore prepared for all manner of disasters, you were caught off guard, so you sought safety in completely irrational ways.

Amateurs! You could actually learn a few things about stockpiling from the doomsday preppers.

Suddenly you were worried if you had enough sanitizer, bottled water, and yes, toilet paper!

You even stood in the rain waiting for the store to open, spaced at least 6 ft away from people you once labeled as hoarders, except now you’re one of them. How much sanitizer will you need?

Will you have enough of whatever you think you need to survive a mandatory lockdown in your town, state, or country when it comes?

And it did come.

But it’s not about the sanitizer or toilet paper. We’re scared, and a closet full of “something” makes us feel safe.

The photos of empty shelves from our friends didn’t help our anxiety one bit.