a reply to:
NightVision
I was serving meals at our weekly community fellowship event last night. I saw a woman in her sixties, I had not seen before. I spoke to her, and she
said something to me that I could not hear. I was not wearing a mask and she was not either. When I started to move closer to her, she told me she was
still practicing social distancing.
I acknowledged her wish, apologized, and told her that I understood. She started crying. My instinct was to put my arms around her, and I did so
spontaneously, then I remembered and jumped back, profusely apologizing.
She said, "NO!, it is me." "I am sorry, you are fine." So I held her. She said it was the first time she had been out of her house to go any place
that she did not have to go. And she just had to get out of the house, but she is so afraid. She said she was so afraid, that she did not like even
walking outside of her home. She said she is terrified of what the world has become, and she is alone with just her little dog. She said her neighbor
is very unfriendly, and she spends most of her time on the internet where she gets all her news, about what is happening in the world and that it is
horrible.
I asked her if she ever tried talking to her neighbor. She said no, he is not approachable, and he doesn't like her dog, but she is trying to get up
the courage to speak to his wife. She said she is hesitant, because she has noticed a change in herself, where she doesn't really trust people, and
she is afraid to be around them. She says she knows it is wrong and that she has to stop believing what she sees on the internet.
I asked her if she has seen any of the horrible things that the internet has convinced her is waiting around the corner to attack her. She said no,
that everyone has been smiling, kind, and friendly. So she realizes she is not being reasonable or rational, but she can't help being afraid.
I sat with her and talked with her for about an hour. She hugged me when she left, and she said she would come back again next week. I hope she does.
I cried. I hate what the internet is doing to some people. The fear, worries, and angst, it is growing in our elderly and our young is destructive,
and growing.
We have to recognize that which we can change, and that which we cannot. Most important, we have to make the changes for the better that are within
our reach and our ability.
Your videos helped me. Thanks.