Grace required: What’s next as our pandemic winter comes to an end?
Outside, the birds are singing and the plants are budding.
As we say goodbye to winter and embrace the scents, sounds, and sights of spring, there’s light at the end of this proverbial tunnel. Here in the northwest corner of these “united” states, the days are longer, it’s light later, and on the horizon is a vaccine for everyone who wants one, even though the rollout — for some of us — is excruciatingly slow.
Experience shared, but different
What that means is that many of us are still hunkered down, tucked in at home, making an effort to keep ourselves and others safe, while having some semblance of a meaningful life, while some are able to venture out more safely. Some of us are exhausted, some are traumatized, some are assessing their risks and doing what they must to stay sane, while the truly introverted have relished the quiet and lowered expectations.
When we finally put this year-long pandemic winter to bed, such as there will be an end, we may all have some form of collective PTSD. While many of us have previously experienced trauma, none of us have experienced trauma together, so broadly, collectively; in this case, a pandemic with myriad losses, challenges, and major life changes.
Grace, required.
To expect normalcy now and in the future may be expecting too much. And while “normal” has a nice ring to it after what has seemed abnormal for so long now, an important question to ask is, “What do I want now?” Were the “before times” all that or can there be a better tomorrow?
While we are, generally speaking, a resilient and capable society, priding ourselves on productivity, we’re going to need time to reflect, regroup, and assign meaning to this experience, and ideally, actively and intentionally, decide what’s next for us. It’s time to re-evaluate our expectations, and while I believe the last year had all of us assessing meaning and priorities, what comes next may look different as we step back into “real” life.
Because as we emerge, much has changed. Some of our favorite places are gone. Our habits have likely changed, both good and bad. And we may have lost friends or family, whether to the virus, other health conditions, or to personal beliefs we learned were too different from our own. Even our values — or what we value — may have changed.
Some of us have started working through this, but others will need more time because what’s true for many is that dreams were paused, goals revised, priorities re-evaluated. To borrow from my corporate life, what do you want to stop, start, or keep?
Personally, I feel like I’m coming out of a long hibernation, an endless winter with few interactions. I’m still head down, working deadline-to-deadline, staying home, staying safe until it’s my turn for a vaccine, but hope is in the air and not far away.
But as I shake off the dregs of winter, I’m thinking about what’s next.
I hope you’ll give yourself grace to be, do, and feel different for a while. Take this time as we emerge to learn and experience the world a little more personally, more mindfully. Remember, your point of power is in *this* moment. What do you want to take away from this year of change?
