My blogging friend Lisa, who I call “The Birdlady” as a form of endearment, posted this beautiful piece on her blog A DAY IN A LIFE. The following text resonated not just with me, but with many of my friends who I forwarded it to. I don’t like the reblog function, so with Lisa’s permission, I repost this here on my blog.
WE ARE NOT IN THE SAME BOAT …
I heard that we are all in the same boat, but it’s not like that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.
For some, quarantine is optimal. A moment of reflection, of re-connection, easy in flip flops, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate financial & family crisis.
For some that live alone, they’re facing endless loneliness. While for others it is peace, rest & time with their mother, father, sons & daughters.
With the $600 weekly increase in unemployment, some are bringing in more money to their households than they were working. Others are working more hours for less money due to pay cuts or loss in sales.
Some families of 4 just received $3400 from the stimulus while other families of 4 saw $0.
Some want to go back to work because they don’t qualify for unemployment and are running out of money. Others want to kill those who break the quarantine.
Some are home spending 2-3 hours/day helping their child with online schooling while others are spending 2-3 hours/day to educate their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday.
Some have experienced the near-death of the virus, some have already lost someone from it and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it. Others don’t believe this is a big deal.
Some have faith in God and expect miracles during 2020. Others say the worst is yet to come.
So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different.
Each of us will emerge, in our own way, from this storm. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, actually seeing.
We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey.
Unknown author
The happy Quitter! 
I really like your blog. A pleasure to come stroll on your pages. A great discovery and a very interesting blog. I will come back to visit you. Do not hesitate to visit my universe. See you soon. 🙂
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A wonderful piece.
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Thank you Bridget ❤
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I think the platitude “We’re all in this together” has been used throughout history as a sop to the masses (ie most of us) to keep us bemused and subordinate. They may as well say “Now be a good chap and just shut up and let us get on with making more and more money!”
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So true, but more brutal when you translate it. 🙂
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I read this somewhere else…thought it was just exactly right. I sort of bristle up when I hear someone say we’re all in this together. It’s way easier to say something like that when you’re comfortable in your home with plenty of food and no kids to entertain. But it means nothing to the single, now unemployed parent with children who are no longer in school where they’d get meals and be kept busy. We’re not in this together at all. We’re in this individually and those of us with more need to make sure that those of us in crisis get some help.
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So very true and empathetic
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