Feeling? Alright.

There is so much going on. Good news, bad news. Crazy news, depressing news. So much news.

It is heartening to see the internet do its best. People singing together, offering tips on educating kids online, cheering healthcare workers, offering tips for cutting your bangs, praying for each other, Zooming with family and friends, adapting quickly to all the other ways we can imagine to make ourselves and each other happy. We are wearing masks. We are standing in lines six feet apart from each other. We are staying at home. We are calling old friends or neighbors and checking in to make sure everyone's okay.

Congratulations to us. We are following our natural instincts to help each other.

But there are moments -- even hours, days, whole times -- when we feel sad. Or lonely. Confused. Worried. Depressed. Bored. Invisible. Distracted. Angry. Tearful. Numb. Aggrieved. Concerned. Left out. Or just plain sad. This is an incredible moment. We have never lived through anything like this. And while there is so very much to see that is encouraging, positive and oriented toward a we're-in-this-together perspective, on a personal level it is very easy to feel otherwise.

And that is okay. That. Is. Okay. You are human. We all are. Just as it is our natural human instinct to help each other, to cheer, to support, it is equally our natural reaction to stop, take stock and succumb to the hard feelings. So when you are down, reach out if you can. Make a call. Find an uplifting video or TED talk. Read inspiring stuff or dance or listen to a favorite happy song. Being down is part of life -- pre-covid-19 and post.

Have compassion for yourself. Your feelings count. They will come and go and come back again. That's what feelings do, but it doesn't mean they don't count. They count when you're having them. Be compassionate for yourself, for your feelings, for everything you are doing to get through this. It. Is. Hard.

You are human. Are you having feelings? Alright.

And, for a distraction, here's an awesome, timeless, many-times-recorded song for you to dance to, written decades ago by a 19-year-old trying to find his way in the world during another turbulent time. The lyrics are good too.