A Quick Note to Survivors…
To survive anything is a reason to celebrate. The month of October is dedicated to awareness and prevention of breast cancer and intimate partner violence. You and I may not be a breast cancer or survivors of domestic violence, but we all have something we have survived.
Most people will agree, the year 2020 has not been what we thought it would be on January 1st. We had no idea in March, just 3 months into the new year, we would be living through a global pandemic. Even now, 10 months into the year, while many people are working from home, far too many have been furloughed, lost wages or forced to shut down their businesses while they await financial assistance from the government. Educators, administrators, students, parents and teachers are frustrated with distance learning, digital divides and the disappointment of canceled high school proms, graduations, college commencements, ceremonies, conferences, concerts and sporting events.
It’s been a year fraught with sickness, sudden deaths, intense race relations and divisive political campaigns. Yet, it’s not been all bad. We have experienced creative news ways of connecting, communicating, working, worshipping and living our lives. Some have started new businesses, written books, remodeled homes, reunited with family and friends, reignited old dreams, passions and visions.
As I pondered this notion, I decided to read famous quotes from people who have survived some of life’s worse challenges, disasters and tragedies. Below is a list of inspiring quotes that I found:
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. ― Leon C. Megginson
“Somehow, even in the worst of times, the tiniest fragments of good survive. It was the grip in which one held those fragments that counted. ― Melina Marchetta
“Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it. ― Robertson Davies
“But part of surviving is being able to move on. ― Alexandra Bracken,
Scars are not signs of weakness, they are signs of survival and endurance. ― Rodney A. Winters
“Bad things can happen, and often do--but they only take up a few pages of your story; and anyone can survive a few pages.” ― James A. Owen,
Whether we have experienced anxiety, fear, financial difficulties, loss, sickness or sorrow this year, the fact that we made it to October 2020 means we are some amazing, resilient, talented and tenacious survivors!
Blessings…
Dr. Toni