On Taking in All of What Has Been Happening
... because the last 2 years (and maybe even more) have been really, really hard for many of us
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The last two years have been hard. Really, really hard. And not just for some people, but a lot of people.
Many of us have been struggling in various ways.
Many of us have tested positive for COVID. Some of which have had to deal with long-term health consequences.
Many of us have known people who have passed away due to COVID.
Many of us have had to deal with adverse reactions to the COVID vaccine.
Many of us have experienced financial instability due to the shut downs.
Many of us have been trying to change our living situations by moving or buying a home, and have felt stuck along the way due to the high demand and low supply.
Many of us have watched our local small businesses gradually close their doors or no longer provide in-person services due to the strain from the pandemic.
Many of us have been struggling with their health insurance coverage this year, due to increases in deductibles on many plans.
Many of us have struggled to get adequate healthcare in the last few years due to the system’s overload with COVID.
Many of us have struggled due to the shortages, which started with toilet paper and hand sanitizer and, most recently, infant formula and dental floss (to name a few).
Many of us have been struggling due to recent inflation, which has led to an inability to spend money on things that we once enjoyed.
Many of us have felt divided (and perhaps even isolated) from our friends and family due to the divisive content heavily promoted on social media (yes, Facebook/Meta, I’m looking at you).
For those of us working in healthcare, we have been overworked. In some cases, healthcare workers have experienced vicarious trauma from witnessing so many deaths and negative health outcomes — and many have not received adequate resources and support to cope, let alone heal.
For the service workers, many have really struggled to keep afloat in during the pandemic and many haven’t been able to afford to go back to old jobs, so they have had to find something with better pay to survive.
For the teens and kids, many have been negatively impacted by not being able to socialize at school the way they’ve wanted or attend the activities in the same way that their peers before them were able to.
And all of this needs to be said.
It really, really needs to be said.
Because even though a lot of things might appear to be “back to normal”, so many of us have been emotionally impacted by these things and continue to be.
There hasn’t been a whole lot of time and space really process what’s happened and to heal, because collectively we’re just “back to business as usual” as if nothing ever happened.
But a lot has happened… and it’s still happening. Very little of our current societal circumstances are anywhere close to the “normal” that many of us once knew.
There is absolutely no stability in the way our society is currently functioning and how we’re holding these things.
It’s no wonder there’s so much stress.
It’s no wonder there’s so much anger and frustration.
It’s no wonder there’s so much anxiety.
It’s no wonder there’s so much sadness and grief.
It’s no wonder there’s so much depression.
It’s no wonder that so many of us have either burned out or are concerned about burning out.
Because all of these things have been hard. Extremely hard. So many of our needs haven’t been able to be met in the last two years (at least), which has inevitably led to so many of us falling into a state of “survival mode” out of fear that something else that we need in order to survive and function might be taken from us at any moment.
It’s extremely dysregulating.
Just by taking a quick glance at Maslow’s Hiearchy of Needs, it’s apparent that if we feel like our basic needs are being threatened and our sense of security is unstable, then there’s not much of a foundation to build anything else from — and we most certainly will never actually thrive.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the folktale “The Tortoise and the Hare”.
It’s almost like so many of us are the hare.
The hare is arrogant and believes that he will easily win.
I don’t recall the tale explaining much of the psychology of the hare. But, hypothetically, maybe the hare really pressures himself to “get ahead” based on his upbringing and the messages he received from family or his culture. Or, perhaps, he feels that he needs to really go fast to win that race because he’s afraid that he’ll lose a sense of security if he doesn’t. Or maybe it’s some combination of both.
But, as the tale goes, the hare ultimately loses, because he runs out of energy and takes a nap. And the tortoise — who is moving slow and steady — wins the race.
I know for myself, as I have been reflecting and emotionally processing both my experiences and the experiences of others over the last two years, I’ve been increasingly feeling the need to slow down.
To pause.
And, in some ways, completely stop.
And to focus more on finding things that are nourishing. To find things that help me meet my own needs by providing some kind of emotional reprieve. To seek out or create some little moments of peace, contentment, and, maybe even, joy in the simple pleasures that come from just being alive.
Things I’ve found nourishing this week:
Moments of laying in the grass and warm sun
Homemade pasta salad (both the process of making it and eating it)
Naps and rest when I feel I need it
This cover of Billy Joel’s “Vienna”
Arugula salads
Vacuuming
Evenings in the swimming pool
Back massages
What’s something that was nourishing for you this week? And if you can’t think of anything, what’s something that you think might be nourishing?