I don’t know about you , but I’m full up on pandemic posts. I get it, this is serious. But still. Too much is too much. You don’t want to look, but you can’t stop looking.

It’s like a train-wreck video playing on repeat and you can’t look away.

Italy bans funerals. Half a million dead. Early symptoms. A woman with COVID speaks out. First child death. Not enough respirators. Coronavirus hits US air-craft. Sacrifice the grandparents. Young people are dying. Vaccine updates. How to survive if you’re over 60. Fines for people violating isolation orders.

It’s stressful — and it’s everywhere.

Um… people…?

You know stress weakens the immune system, right?

We have to stop doing this. To ourselves, and to each other. If it’s helpful, by all means, tell us. But let’s be honest — how much of it is truly helpful and hasn’t been seen all over the news? Do we really need more?

More fear, more stress?

So I asked myself what I/we need right now
Because more stress isn’t it.

Also? God save us from the self growth brigade right about now…

The world is scary right now. We don’t know who’s going to die. We don’t know who’s infected. We don’t know if we might have it and be asymptomatic. We don’t know if that cough is a just cold — or worse.

Some people don’t know how they’re going to pay their rent.

Or if they’re going to have a job, or if their business will fail.

Some people have to go to work and they’re terrified every day.

Anyone who’s telling people, in the midst of a pandemic, what time to wake up or any other “life improvement, get-your-life-together” tips must have some special kind of tone deaf.

Please. Get counseling on how to be a compassionate human being.
It will benefit all of humanity.

There is a time for everything. This is not the time.

So, what do you write about when you don’t want to push panic buttons?

We live in a world where clicks are cash so the media fuels it. Just like the way we couldn’t stop watching the towers come down on 9/11.

It’s not helping.

What to write about? I’ve been wrestling that for days. Me and the alligator, teeth and claws, going a few rounds. Here’s some ideas I came up with.

1. #CoronaKindness and #ClapForCarers

So many people are doing nice things for each other that #CoronaKindness and #ClapForCarers are trending. People leaving food on doorsteps. People making meals for the kids who depended on school meal programs to eat. Find a great story and dig in. When times are hard, it’s heartwarming to see stories of humans being kind to each other. It lifts our spirits.

2. Write about inspirational people…

Jake Johnson, the actor who voiced Peter Parker in “Spider-Man, into the Spider-Verse” is offering to record comforting messages to kids who are suffering anxiety because of Corona Virus. Rihanna just bought $700,000 worth of ventilators for Barbados, because they couldn’t afford them.

Doesn’t even have to be related to the pandemic. The world is full of people who inspire us and restore our faith in humanity. Write about someone who inspires you.

3. Do you do funny?

Do you do funny? I don’t do funny. Not on purpose, anyway. When I try to be funny people tend to stare glassy eyed. It’s when I’m not trying to be funny I crack people up. Go figure. If you do funny, please do. We could all use a good laugh. Did you know laughing reduces stress?

4. Teach us something!

Is there something you know how to do, like for real? And I don’t mean internet marketing advice for gosh sakes. Come on. You know you can’t teach people to replace their income with a 9 min read, right?

But, for real. Can you teach us how to do something or make something? That could be a lot of fun if we were suddenly all teaching each other how to do neat stuff and filling the feed with fun not fear.

5. Write an opinion piece

Got a strong opinion on something? Write about it. Not sure what to write about? Go to Google Trends and scroll down to recently trending. Click on one of the recent trends and it will show you the trending headlines. Shouldn’t be too hard to find something that’s timely to write about!

6. De-bunk some popular myth

In a world of self-growth gurus telling us how not to be lazy, it is any surprise that “Laziness Doesn’t Exist” got 267K claps? People love giving advice, even when they’re not qualified to do so. If there’s something people say that drives you up the wall because it’s so wrong — write about it!

7. Photo essay challenge

I read a really neat photo challenge. A woman placed a 12" square tile in her yard and challenged herself to stand on that tile and take a different photo every day for 30 days. She did it! You have your whole yard and house. Take a photo and write a story to go with it.

8. Write a list only YOU can write

5 people who changed your life for the better.
3 foods you’d rather starve than eat.
7 things that terrify the wits out of you.
10 things you’d like to see before you die.
5 skills you wish you’d learned but never did.

Invent a list only you can write. Heck, ask your readers to share their answers in the comments and get some interaction happening.

9. # things you wish you’d known about ___

__ things you wish you’d known about writing on Medium.
__ Things you wish you’d known about marriage.
__ Things you wish you’d known about parenting.

We’ve all learned things the hard way, haven’t we? Is there another way to learn anything? Pick something you’ve learned and write a list of things you wish you’d known when you started. The list is endless…

10. A digital vacation

Think of some exotic place in the world that you’d love to see. Then go collect photos and tourist info and take us on a digital vacation with you. Be sure to link to your resources and only use photos you have permission to use.

11. Book or movie reviews or suggestions…

We’re all housebound, right? What books are you reading? What movies are you watching? Can you share great bits or write a review? Or heck, make lists of books or movies. 5 books for horror fans. 10 best zombie movies.

12. Gratitudes and appreciations

Lots of people believe that if you write 3 things you’re grateful for every day, it will have a positive effect. Interestingly, science says that noticing things you “appreciate” is more uplifting than things you’re grateful for, but either way, a post to share uplifting thoughts or things that made you smile sure would feel a lot nicer to read than more of the “omg, did you hear…” stuff, right?

13. TBT or FBF — and tell the story!

#TBT (Throwback Thursday) and #FBF (Flashback Friday) are used pretty much any day of the week, but they could make fun posts, too. Share a flashback photo and tell the story that goes along with it.

Want to play?

If you use one of these ideas, feel welcome to come post a link to it in the comments. I’d love to read your uplifting stories.

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