I wanted to write a little about what I have been seeing with this incredibly sudden new time we are experiencing with social distancing and the shelter-in-place effort. The majority of us go about our daily lives and never think about something like the Corona Virus coming in and hijacking what we knew of our normalcy. Well, it is here.
Prior to our current state, I saw a lot of anxiety over what would occur in our daily lives, in our jobs, running children to all their activities, family stress, anxiety over past traumas, I could go on and on about these topics. We plan and plan and plan. We go and go an go. Rarely do we just be.
This is what makes this time so incredible. I feel as a society we have lost site of what is important. We are hardwired for relationships. From what I have seen too often we allow stressors to come in the way of our important relationships. The quality of our core relationships is actually what helps fend off the depressions and anxieties people experience. I believe many people are realizing what means the most in their lives actually resides within the walls of their homes even down to the happiness of the family dog. Those that are wanting to pull relationships into the walls of their homes are doing so through technology. For those who live even a 45 minute drive to a close friend and rarely see them because they are so busy with work, are making the extra effort to connect through Zoom or FaceTime!
People are creatively coming together. People are creatively bringing things into their lives that they have been wanting to do for some time like painting, learning a new language online, catching up on reading they have been meaning to get to for years, and really anything they have put aside. What a nice shift. For most the decrease in life stressors and lack of commuting have helped aid in the space to bring in new things, as well as what has been neglected. People are experiencing what getting fresh air and a nice walk really can do, quietly organizing their thoughts, throwing the ball for the dog, meditating, having a meaningful conversation with their spouse, an so on.
All this integration of the positivity and self care we all talk about and never do is currently being accessed by so many. Once we are through this time, we need to keep this new perspective and actions going. How do we do this? I do not know if we have the answers. I am asking honestly because I know how overpowering the demands of our lives were. I think we can slowly and mindfully answer that question when the time comes.