Hello dear friend, 

Wow. COVID-19 has my head spinning, and I, much like you, am afraid. 

I started writing this letter two weeks ago. I started writing this letter 14 times. Every time, every day, our world continued its tectonic shift from varying degrees of complacency in COVID-19 awareness to complete mobilization of resources along with drastic lifestyle alterations, cancellations and employment changes. And every day, my perspective was tossed about in the tide. So much uncertainty! 

I, like you, am afraid. 

I am afraid for my loved ones. My immediate family are all involved in health care save for one, and with the exception of the mental health therapist, there is no opportunity to work from home or no choice for social distancing when treating a patient in pain. That precious one who is not a health care provider has leukemia, and is immunocompromised. I have a mother and mother-in-law both in their later 80’s. I have a newborn grandchild. I understand babies are unlikely to get sick from COVID-19, but what if? Each of us is connected in many ways to someone who is at potential peril from this rangy little contagion. 

I, like you, am afraid. 

I am afraid of over-reaction. I am afraid of under-reaction. What is the right course? I am afraid for all of the businesses trying to continue a stream of income to pay employees whether they are open, whether the employee is able to work or not. I am afraid for local stores whose commerce will plummet as we confine ourselves and purchase every possible convenience online. I am afraid for restaurants and fellow musicians and theaters and Uber drivers and museums and janitors and athletes and all individuals who depend on society’s having an active hunger for and access to live engagement, live enrichment and live entertainment. I am afraid for schoolchildren, desperate for their daily meals and daily routines, and for the the desperate parents who may not be equipped to properly educate their children during extended school closures (I know I wouldn’t be!), let alone still work their job! I am afraid for people living paycheck to paycheck, having to choose between ramen noodles, which you can’t find anyway, and rent as jobs dry up. I am worried for those without a home to quarantine themselves within. Each of us somehow fits in the plethora of categories experiencing the potential for economic and educational meltdown. 

I, like you, am afraid. 

I am afraid of the great destabilizer, uncertainty. Active imaginations can scare up the worst possible scenarios! Primal fears are so easily fed! I am afraid of social distancing leading to further social disconnect. I am afraid that you and I will allow ourselves to be paralyzed by our fears, becoming anxious, irritable, irrational, self-absorbed. I am afraid of anger over the unfairness of lost income, despair over delays in weddings and long awaited social events, weakening of faith as gathering for worship and social support is strictly limited. I am afraid of this Corona bug infecting our spirit as much as our bodies, destroying our relationships and our self-worth. 

I, like you, am afraid. 

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Your reflection is a composite of your perspective and the reactions you will garner. Anger will get anger, fear will get fear, and hope will get hope. I, like you, am afraid, but I don’t want to live surrounded by fear. I don’t want to attract fear. I want to acknowledge it, then let it go. I want to replace it with hope. I can do that, with the strength I possess because: 

I, like many of you, am a woman, a mother, a daughter, a grandmother, an aunt, a wife, a sister, a friend… 

This month is Women’s History Month. If women were weak in the time of crisis, we would have no history to share. So, with quiet courage and vehement resolve, let’s follow the lead of those admirable women of the past, only in 2020 terms. Pick our heads up, elbow bump our best friends through disinfected cell phone screens while sipping cups of tea brimming with echinacea while connecting on FaceTime calls. Do not allow our fears to swallow us whole, and do what we can to support those around us to do the same. Society rises and falls on the strength of relationships, and the health of individuals within those relationships. I have already witnessed so many kindnesses both on social media- people supporting people- and in action in our personal lives. We. Will. Get. Through. This! Together, with hands sanitized and eyes open wide. 

I, along with you, am strong. 

This message is paramount in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic: We are strong beyond our self expectations. We are sensitive. We are deserving. Even when we hurt inside, we are resilient.  We are complicated! We are human beings. As much as the news feels grim as numbers infected rise, there is also the silver lining of research into effective treatments and cures. "Flattening the curve" can work! And together we are equipped to face the societal sacrifice in the altruistic call to fight COVID-19. 

The final song of my recently released CD “Intuition” is a rousing culmination of rising TOGETHER. We can share our love, share our strength, even at a distance! With the help of others, we can rise above obstacles that may overwhelm us alone. Take a listen- I hope you feel a surge of collective courage! The song is called “Rise in Love:” 

“Rise with me, rise above. 
Together we’ll rise. Together we’ll rise. 
Starting deep soar above. 
Together we will rise in love.” 

We thrive in connection. We rise in love. Let’s do this!

Stay healthy. Stay kind. Stay home. Hope will get us to the light at the end of this tunnel- 

Always With Love, 
Rändi ♥🌟🎶

Photo credit: Laura Anne Henderson

randifay.com 💫 

INSPIRATION  🖤 PASSION 🖤 NOSTALGIA