As I’ve been saying for months:

We are the NEW Greatest Generation. And it’s time to step up.

Much will be asked of us. Yet like those who, in WWII, gave up copper, tinfoil, and rubber for a war effort, we will give up polarizing political ideals, tribalism, and blinding fear, in order to rise to the occasion that is now calling us.

We are THE NEW GREATEST GENERATION. This is the beginning of our defining moment. As such, I’m reflecting on how we, as an American society, are handling the idea of limited resources (TP, bananas, money, etc):

COVID-19 is a spreading virus. It’s highly contagious. Yet the real contagion is fear, and sadly, a “justified selfishness” in that fear.

We can be responsible, aware, and take care of our families without panic-hoarding and leaving little or no resources for people who don’t have the means or energy to drive to multiple differing stores to find supplies. If we all have a little, we will all have enough.

A week ago my family was legitimately out of toilet Paper. Bad time to run out, in a house with three women, yet life is life.

I went to three stores and found some TP at Walgreens . As I walked in, a women was there with her cart piled so high with TP that she had to steady it, to move it. I hoped there was still some left.

The shelves were pretty bare, yet there a brand left that I don’t normally buy because it’s a touch overpriced in my opinion, but it’s what was there. (Likely because of the price point.)

I talked with the girl who was stocking, about the TP situation. She mentioned a lady was just there and had cleaned out two full shelves. She mentioned the lady said her son had an autoimmune issue.

The employee I was speaking with was younger and didn’t get the “hoarding” mentality. She said she thought people could leave some for others.

I agreed. It’s true that we don’t know other people’s circumstances. Yet for those of us who are healthy and are not in a critical age range for mortality with COVID-19, we can step up.

Now, bulk buying in Montana, where I live, is sort of a “thing” for those who live in outlying areas, so a cart piled high is not entirely unusual. My family doesn’t live in an outlying area, yet I proceeded to buy TP as if I were buying for a cabin, stocking for a summer stint. I bought two packs of 12, and three packs of nine. I left a TON of TP on the shelf, and they were still stocking. (I’m a house of three women, I generally buy more than one pack anyway.) I just wanted to make sure we had enough to get through this weird rush on TP. There were *plenty* packs of TP left and six really big boxes to unload on the palate.

I later bought some herbs from my good pal Jim Nymeyer at Jade Forest Wellness & Herb Store here in Billings, MT. He has herbs that have helped me kick viral bugs in the past. He only had a little more than a dozen bottles because China is running out. I could have easily bought them all, yet I wanted to leave some for others. I bought one bottle for each person in my home — three (as that’s the dosing) — and left the rest.

It’s important to remember that product comes from many sources. TP also comes from a Mexico, and other places, and so we won’t be utterly wiped out. (No pun intended.)

Jim has multiple anti-viral and anti-bacterial herbs that will work in teas. My sister-in-law Melissa Scianna also has bacterial and viral-resisting herbs and teas at her store, Vintage Apothecary, in Bridger, MT. We have so many resources here in Billings and surrounding areas alone, (and skilled people who can combine wonderfully naturally healing elements in a pinch), that hoarding seems a bit over the top.

And really, just not the thing to do.

It’s important we widen our scope; to remember that Kleenex will work as TP in a pinch, cut-up thin napkins, as well as cut-up small squares of more thin paper towels, can also double as toilet paper and not overwhelm plumbing if the regular paper towels are small enough (and aren’t the thick “wipes”.) Or, thicker Paper Products can go in the garbage instead of down the toilet, like in other parts of the world.

AND — it’s important to note that if ALL paper products on earth disappear — we can cut up a sheet, and do as many countries whose plumbing can’t handle paper products — toss the sheet squares in a secure plastic container or garbage bag until hot-and-bleach-water wash day comes along. Rinse, dry, and repeat. (There weren’t always disposable diapers.)

It’s important that we all don’t HOARD; that we don’t panic. This puts at risk the elderly, and those who financially can’t buy in massive bulk at one time. Which is *most* of America right now.

There’s enough for everyone if we just don’t act like those temple moneys and street monkeys in Thailand who depend on tourists to feed them, yet now that the tourists aren’t there, are literally warring with one another in the streets over scraps of food.

It’s important to recall that we evolved from those primates. That type of behavior is in our DNA. Yet just because it’s there does not mean that we are required to act on it.

This is our challenge. To rise above the “no one will notice” illusion that we, as Americans, have propagated. That we are somehow separate, on our own, in our own bubble. That we affect no one but ourselves.

This is our challenge. To leave some for others. To have faith in others that they will assist us as well. To remember that in a consumerist nation so large, a nation that places money above all things — it’s likely that TP companies will be pushing product into the shelves as fast as they can get it here. And until they shut down trucking in America, product is still on the roll.

This is our challenge. To not see the end of life as we know it as world stock markets plummet and continue to plummet. And they will. Yet we the people decide value. Not the markets. And that’s what this situation is all about — returning the pace, and the power, and the lifestyle of TRULY LIVING — back to an emotionally connected people.

We are being taught the value of time off, the value of connection, and the value of trusting our neighbors again. Though we are social distancing, we can still text and call to stay in contact with one another.

If we remain calm, and all do our part, then we will mostly, across the board, be okay.

This is our challenge. To step up. To pop our own bubbles. To see the world for the delicate connected society that we are. To care about people we’ve never met. To consider ourselves a steward of one another, not just “our family”, and “our money”, because as we are seeing, our family — and our money — is spread out over the entire world.

If we stay calm, this all makes sense, in a world where money is king above humanity, and where health and wellness is put on the back burner.

It make sense that we are having this colossal priority re-set. Because while nose-deep in convenience, we have lost our way.

As part of the NEW GREATEST GENERATION, I get it. I get the very small sacrifices we’re being asked to make — sacrifices that we should have been making this entire time.

This is an important drill. Because when more life-threatening “bugs” hit our atmosphere as our climate changes, and our permafrost melts by billions of gallons of water at a time — we’ll need to know how to share.

And moreover, we’ll need to remember how to CARE. That’s how we’ll stay alive.

You are part of the NEW GREATEST GENERATION. Step up, step into it. We’ve got this, America.

And we’ve got this, world.

#NewGreatestGeneration