First things first. How are you? Sadly, it’s been a while here, but trust you’ve been pulling through. Keeping afloat in a world flooded with so many ‘this and that’.

Trust you’ve been- Staying safe. Staying clean. Staying hydrated. Staying at home. And most of all staying happy.
I know telling you to stay happy in times like this may seem absurd. But I insist. Please, stay happy

-because being sad won’t change a thing.
-because staying happy is everything.
-and finally, because wearing a ‘proper’ smile from the heart will serve as a bullet proof for guarding your health, your peace, and your ‘everything and more’. However, putting on a fake smile is simply what it is- a mask. Making you resemble the same things you frown at…(story for another day).

Just for emphasis
Staying safe- Why?

-because I need you. I do. Having you read my works and allowing them get to your heart to leave positive footprints, gives me fulfilment untold.

– because you need me. Yup!😊
– because we all need each other.
-because we are all that we have.

Now To The Matter

Still, baffling! That in a jiffy, the world is put to a stand still. Everything we’ve always lived for. Our businesses. Our daily ambitions. Our daily lives, all seemingly paused.
Well, this article isn’t to fuel your fears by going on and on with the ever alarming statistics and all what we already know are the negatives of the times we are in.

This, is simply a gentle call for us to breathe. Pay attention. Listen, and read the handwritings on the wall.
“During each disaster, we have to invent a magnificent tomorrow.
Always, be ready to pickup the stars during the dark.”- Amirah Writer/Friend

I strongly agree with the quote- “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel”, but it’s high time we realized that the LIGHT is you. Me. Us. The makeup of our world. When we get sick, so will our world. And when we heal, our world heals also. I bet you now better understand the phrase – ‘we are the world.’

Before Now

All these years of existence, we (our world) kept moving in such a fast pace. Daily, we woke up to changes. New innovations. New technologies. New thought patterns; birthing ‘refined humans’ constantly trying to keep up with the trends. To keep up with life. Maybe in this race, our beings got modified too. Our ability to pause. To listen. To feel. To be human. Maybe, just maybe the world grew too cold. The clouds got full

And COVID- 19 stormed
a world where anxiety has no color and fear has no race…

And for the first time (in a long time) the world paused. To breathe, after all these years of panting ‘to meet up’ with many things inexplicable. Running within its own circles. The world paused. A break time to: – reconnect with our God/our families/ourselves

-understand our essence
– relearn how to listen
-relearn kindness
-reframe our priorities
-broaden our perspectives
Noting the very things that matter, in all.

Do not talk about ‘heal the world’ without speaking about healing ourselves…

P.S: The power of words in times like this cannot be overemphasized. As we continue to share the statistics of death. Let’s endeavor to share life too.
I’m currently working on a collection… To be a part of it, kindly forward just 2 lines of hope/life on the current pandemic to [email protected]
You don’t have to be a “writer” to be part of this… 2 lines😘 links to published works will be forwarded via email.
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More to come on this space: edenbenibo.com
-a duet on Covid- 19 by a new ‘writer friend’ and I.
-forthcoming article- On Covid- 19 and The Roles of Communication in Our Lives. (To be published by Etu Odi Communication)
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Stay tuned
Stay Safe

Much love,
Eden