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Joe Puentes

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We are supposed to be a little bit crazy right now

We are supposed to be a little bit crazy right now

Last updated on: April 3, 2020 at 11:48 am by Joe Puentes

We are supposed to be a little bit crazy right now 2020-04-03T11:48:23-07:00 Joe Puentes

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Grief and love. If you’re human and living, then you will experience death and renewal, they’re certainties in this life. These challenges are universal and normal. Nothing about COVID-19 is normal. It’s a pandemic.

Mental Health, Random Thoughts, COVID-19

“WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A LITTLE BIT CRAZY RIGHT NOW.”

One of my professors said this the other day. I really like the class I have with him. The class is Group Counseling. Part of the requirements for this class were we needed to sit in and observe 10 hours of group counseling in open groups like AA or Grief groups or something along those lines. But because of COVID-19, everything went out the window. So our professor basically made our Zoom class part course-learning and part group therapy to help us full fill our course requirements.

Anyway, as we were talking about about how COVID-19 is affecting our lives my professor said , “We are supposed to be a little bit crazy right now.” Think about it, nothing about our day should feel normal right now—this isn’t normal. Life has challenges and many of them are universal to all of us; it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what language you speak, there color of your skin, political beliefs and etc… We all laugh cry sing dance (Well some of us dance. It isn’t pretty when I do). Pain and sorrow and grief and joy and love happen to every one of us. These are universal challenges each of us experience.

Grief and love. If you’re human and living then you will experience death and renewal, they’re certainties in this life. These challenges are universal and normal. Nothing about COVID-19 is normal. It’s a pandemic. We have to stay 6 feet away from people and not touch them. We can’t have parties. We can’t go to work, or some of us at least. We can’t find toilet paper or flour at the grocery store. Now we are possibly being told we have to wear mask out in public. This isn’t normal. We are supposed to be a little bit crazy right now. God created us for community and intimacy.

NETFLIX PARTY.

I remember walking in the woods several years back and I saw a dead tree trunk and the bees were quite interested. It reminded me of spring. Spring is here. That should mean something to us. I heard Netflix had the idea of creating a Netflix Party. It’s the idea of friends getting together by watching a movie or TV show synchronously online, as if they were having a movie night together in the same house, but of course they aren’t in the same house because of the social distancing rules. I heard some people tried to have a Netflix party, but didn’t realize everyone needed their own Netflix account. You can’t share your login information for the party, which makes sense. God created us for community and intimacy.

TELEMENTAL HEALTH.

I participated in a seminar for school via Zoom the other day. It was about Telemental Health. Telemental Health is online therapy where a therapist or counselor provides psychological counseling and support over the internet through email, video conferencing, online chat, or a phone call. This is a growing field, and since COVID-19 it’s becoming necessary.

Anxiety and depression are real. I have had bouts of anxiety and depression, as recently as January. I imagine many people will be experiencing these disorders because of isolation. This is an uneasy time we are all experiencing. God created us for community and intimacy.

Telemental Health could be a great resource for you if you’ve been hesitant to see a counselor because of social distancing or any reason for that matter.

Here are a couple of resources to help you find a Telemental Health counselor:

psychologytoday.com or talkspace.com

CELEBRATE THE SIMPLE AND MUNDANE.

I have some hopes for us coming out of this unprecedented time. I hope we learn to celebrate the simple and mundane. I also hope we learn to be kinder, gentler, and more patient with each other. I also hope we learn that humans, governments, and money can’t save us. Only Jesus can.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and you have a knot the size of the world’s biggest ball of twine, then just remember we are supposed to be a little bit crazy right now. God created us for community and intimacy.

By the way you can see the biggest ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas. Although don’t go there until this whole ‘Stay Home, Save lives’ order is lifted.

JOHN WAYNE QUOTE.

I like John Wayne. I know he is controversial right now because of some old interview he did. We’ve all said and done things that can be considered controversial.

I’ve been thinking about this quote.

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”

— John Wayne

COVID-19 UPDATES:

Current body temperature: 98.6.
Rolls of toilet paper: 3 cases. I’m also including the case and a half I have at the coffee shop.
Number of times I touched my face today: Too many times to count. I fail.
Food Supplies: Plenty of beef. 3/8 cartons of eggs left. 7 cans of Tuna. 0/6 bottles of Pellegrino. No more hard cheese. 1 flask of whiskey for emergency purposes.
Dollars received from the government: $0 of $2400
Social distancing grade: B- (Coffee Shop; I do hang out in the back kitchen)

*I got the idea for the COVID-19 updates from a blogger I follow. His name is Adam McLane.

About Joe Puentes

I’m a ragamuffin, sojourner, writer, heart attack survivor. I own a coffee shop. I write stuff. I’m working on my M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. You can read more about the author here.

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