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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Before the pandemic, I had begun to hike every Sunday with a group of four friends. Although Covid-19 hit New Mexico hard and early, the state government did not prohibit hiking in small groups, so we were able to continue to hike together. We've hiked many trails, familiar and novel, throughout the year. It has been mentally, physically, and socially stabilizing. We've noticed more people out on the trails as well. Sometimes we see folks out on the trail with their dogs, or children; on horseback; on bicycles; or like us, just walking along. Some people wear masks while hiking and some do not. We are grateful every week to be able to enjoy the natural resources in New Mexico and especially the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, City and County Open Space and other government administrators and workers who have kept the trails open and maintained.
February 22, 2021
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I have been thinking alot about death this week, and I know that it's not healthy, but I don't know why it just keeps coming up before I go to bed. I think about my mom and my grandma and how much I love them, and I can't stand the thought of them passing away. Before the virus, whenever I thought about birthdays, getting older, or even the prospect of death, I didn't think of it with the element of fear and dread like I do now. It's like my mind had been tainted by the thought and it obscures my celebrations of everything good that's been happening to me lately. I am the type of person to understand what happens in the end, but use that at a positive catalyst to enjoy my life without a backdrop of fear. However, either due to the all-encompassing nature of the virus or my own corona scare, it seems like a feint black veil has been placed behind the stage of my life, and I sense it more and more when I have good moments. Before I could see the good and celebrate it, but now it seems like there is the nagging fear of death behind every celebration.
August 21, 2020