• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Did you learn anything new about yourself due to Covid?

Brickjectivity

Turned to Stone. Now I stretch daily.
Staff member
Premium Member
My grandmother whom I've spoken about on here who passed away a few years ago, believed that tough times reveal who you really are. Not good times, because she said ''they don't challenge you.''

I started a diary on here as a cathartic process to let out all I've learned about myself during Covid, the good bad and indifferent.

So, please share, what did you learn about yourself during these past couple of months?
I'll take this as an opportunity to talk about my new position as caretaker for my sister's dog. Its technically her dog, but it lives here. I have the larger space. Sis always wanted a dog, so I'm keeping it for her. She visits to train it. Since covid 19 came I am caretaker of this dog, and although this dog has taught me very little about myself it represents a change in routine.

This dog was free, not purchased. This was a lost lab puppy which appeared scratching at my door, wet and afraid. It had been lost for a while and gotten thin and carried about thirty ticks, and its neck had become tight in its collar. I tried to ignore it, but it just hung around. Sis found out about it.


Its stinky, has absolutely no sense, can't come indoors, likes to tear things to pieces and dig. In general its just a lot of trouble. Every morning I have to let it out, tie it up feed it, clean up after it. Its very annoying and a chore. It eats a lot and it craps a lot. Last night there was another storm, and either the storm or the dog managed to get the door open on the dog's enclosure, but the dog didn't escape. Its still here, so I guess its decided to remain. Its been here now for several weeks.

I have been angry with it only a couple of times, and even that was silly of me. Dogs aren't people and do exactly what you might expect. We just have to manage them (or doggage them). The dog is a light brown lab with gold eyes, very pretty. It wants only my attention at all times, ceaselessly whining and whistling. I pity this dog and don't want it to suffer, but I don't let on that I pity it and pretend to be un-repentantly happy at all times as I ignore it, playing with it once a day towards evening and walking it a little.

I don't have a fence so I'm working to implement a wireless collar that warns with tones and then uses a mild shock. It sounds terrible, I know. I'm afraid to try this device on my own neck. I think its better than the dog's current situation which is a leash on a sliding taught line. The line lets the dog run back and forth, but the dog gets bored a lot. The wireless collar will be a lot better I think, and this dog doesn't like to wander off. It likes to stay very close to my door, so its not going to get shocked. I'll train it to avoid the collar noise, following the instructions that come with this device. That should take a couple of weeks, and then it can spend most of its time off of the leash.

One downside to covid 19 is I can't take this dog to a dog park to meet other dogs, since there will be other people there. Its going to be an unsocialized dog unable to interact well in the presence of other dogs. That's too bad.
 

It Aint Necessarily So

Veteran Member
Premium Member
did you learn about yourself during these past couple of months?

I've always known that being a white male born into a good family in mid-20th century America who has never been faced with threats like a war at home, a depression, or a pandemic, was extremely lucky, but now, I'm understanding better and more clearly just how lucky I've been.

I read a 30-year old recent mother and homeowner lamenting how her generation just can't catch a break. The recession of 2008 came as she was graduating high school, and now this just as she's starting to raise a family, pay off a mortgage, and save for her future. She feels that she has no future. I'd never felt that way before.

On the down side, and paradoxically given that this is a crisis affecting all of humanity, I've never felt less connected to the rest of humanity. I've learned how well I can get by with nobody but my wife.

I dare not share how I feel about Trump supporters, armed lockdown protesters, people refusing to wear masks or cooperate to protect themselves and their neighbors, and religious people demanding to meet in churches except to say that their futures are of little interest to me any more, and I no longer care how many get sick and die apart from the effect that that would have on the ability of others who cooperate to get treatment. That's a little surprising given my lifetime of feeling otherwise.

Good question. Thanks.
 
Top