And Now for the Rest of the Story…

By Clint Galloway, Board Member, The Right Door for Hope Recovery and Wellness (Ionia); Former Editor, Connections for Communities that Car

As of this writing, the pandemic is “officially” over. However, it feels like the ravages of the COVID-19 Pandemic have affected every dimension of our existence. The reports published by the World Health Organization are stark reminders of one dimension of this devastating plague; those who have become infected by the virus. You can check and see what today’s figures are. As of October 10, 618,521,620 people worldwide had succumbed to this disease with 6,534,725 deaths.   https://covid19.who.int/table   However, this is only one facet of the story, when you factor in the socio-economic impact, the devastation becomes universal, no one escapes unscathed. To make matters worse here in the United States, this is occurring within an acrimonious political environment that has jaundiced our outlook while impeding our collective response, it has been a tough year! Is there a silver lining? The words of Paul Harvey come to mind: “In times like these, it’s helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.”  (as quoted in: Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing by Larry Chang, p. 271.) However, I must confess that this sounds a little like an admonishment to “suck it up”. There seem to be a lot of people, including myself, that feel like we have reached our limit. I find it more helpful to find the space in which I can “let it go”. I don’t really need another statistical report of casualties. I simply need to acknowledge the stress. Its effects have been deeply etched in our minds and bodies; if we have not already, the time to take notice is now. That may well be what we are avoiding, fearing if we do, we’ll lose whatever comport we have mustered. It is time to remember that healing requires truthfulness; avoidance exacerbates and prolongs. So, how are you doing?

If you’re old enough to remember the radio broadcasts of Paul Harvey, “the most listened to man in the history of radio”, (I obviously am), his most famous line used repeatedly was: “And now for the rest of the story”. Once we “let it go”, we may discover an amazing sequel of the “rest of the story” coming into focus. It’s right under our noses! If you’re reading this, it’s because you are somehow connected to that vast community network that strives to improve the wellbeing of not only our individual lives, but also that of our families, friends, and neighbors. As one of our sister agencies states their mission, it is “to inspire hope, empower people, and strengthen communities” (OCHN). With our focus on the mission or purpose which we share, let me ask the same question again: How are you doing? If you are reading this thoughtfully, taking time to reflect as you go along, I suspect your answer is quite different this time around. Amazing, isn’t it! The first time I asked the question, I did so in the context of focusing on the suffering, what makes it a tough year; the latter question was asked in the context of what our mission is in our communities, in other words, what have we been doing about it! I suspect it has awakened countless memories of working with the new challenges. Stories of developing creative strategies, building new ways to communicate, engaging in collaborative efforts, learning new skills, bringing new voices into genuine dialogue, all to persevere in advancing the mission: promoting the wellbeing of our communities.  Some, perhaps many, of these stories may well have already concluded with a celebratory exclamation, “Yes! we did it!” Challenging times not only produce casualties, but they also produce the stories that are flush with meanings, revealing our true nature: at the bottom, we are One. What called us into this work shines the brightest when the pressure is the greatest. “And that is the rest of the story!”