The holidays are over and I’ve opened up my journal again. I’ve been feeling a bit sluggish and off these days, so journaling might just get me out of this funk!

Todays journal assignment asks, “Write something that is troubling you, even if you don’t have a solution for it”.  Seems like a heavy question when I really stop to think about it. There are a million things that come to mind, but what is the most significant one?!

Ok, we’ve all got issues – that’s a given, one that really comes to mind however, is the dreaded Covid-19, living though a pandemic and being apart of history is what I’d consider a significant troubling thought that causes me some restlessness. This however doesn’t seem to be the one that bothers me the most, what bothers me the most when I sit down and try to pin point it, is a grouping or cluster if you will of, mistrust, which is directly related to Covid19! 

Before the pandemic social media had already begun to play a huge role in where people believed they could collect their news information from. There is one problem with social media being a source of news, and that is, that anyone can post anything they want without any actual evidence of facts. They are able to simply unload their beliefs to the reader without any facts checks required.  Of course we all are allowed to have our own opinions and freedom of speech. I also believe we are so quick to see an article or video that sides with our “wants/or beliefs” that we quickly hit that share button without doing any investigation or fact checking first. How many of you have fact checked an article before sharing it, or looked up the Dr’s. Name to be sure he or she actually exists. 

We are bombarded with messages that tell us, the news channels on TV are bought and paid for my the government and we can’t trust every angle they spin a story. Then we are told you can’t trust independent news either because they are conspiracy junkies and have no base for any accusations they claim. 

So here is my mistrust problem – what is true and what is false? When it comes to Covid19 and doing what’s best to stay safe, this is where I feel the most frustration. Which source do I trust, who is reporting actual numbers on infection rates, death rates, and recovery rates? 

Much like everything Covid, there is no rhyme or reason to the rules and maybe this is why some people are “putting on their tin hats” if you will. Believing the government is trying to push some kind of hidden agenda on us all. 

In the beginning of the pandemic we were told masks won’t help unless they are the N95 masks, but now they want us wearing them anytime we are in public. It’s ok to have 100’s of people in a large grocery store but not ok to meet with your parents for Christmas, or how about how the NHL is allowed to start playing hockey again, but our kids who go to school everyday can’t go to the arena and play a game with these same kids. 

I’m not saying I think the virus isn’t infectious and something we need to take very seriously, because I am one who believes we need to do our best to stay safe. I however, also fear the mental health it’s putting on my kids, my mother who lives alone, and all the seniors who are locked away from family. Let’s not forget about all the small business’s who’ve made the appropriate Covid safety requirements, only to be shut down yet again. There are so many businesses who can not afford these lock downs. I fear for my kids future, they are the ones who will have to pay off this countries debt, I fear for the coming taxes we are all going to have. 

So yes, my confession is – I have no idea who I trust or what source of information to trust anymore. I don’t watch the news anymore because it’s all doom and gloom, maybe a bit of ignorance is bliss too lol. I think we all need more positivity in our lives and I think we all need to grant each other grace for our different beliefs. If we don’t stop fighting and arguing about Covid, we will be the worst virus to ourselves. Take the vaccine or don’t – what I’m saying is don’t let yourself stress about what others feel is right for them if it’s different from what you think is right. We can’t control what others do, we can only control our actions.

Where do you get your news information from – who do you trust?