What this "New Normal" has taught me...
Hi friends. I know it’s been about a month since I’ve written, but I hope today’s post will make up for that.
COVID hit in March. It’s August, and frankly, I’m getting tired. I’ve had plenty of time to think (maybe too much time), and I’ve come up with a list of some of the greatest things I’m learning during this time. These are in no particular order, and they may not even correlate, but hey, that’s how my brain works sometimes.
Change is inevitable (and needed): I don’t do well with change. I’m a routine based person for the most part. (Now this isn’t to say I can’t adapt to change, because after a while I recognize that it’s important to switch things up). I like to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it, how I’m doing it, etc. I like to plan for the future. If anything changes how I see things happening in my head, it frustrates me. Imagine how I felt when I had planned out my 2020, and was finally getting into the grove of things, and a virus hit. It shattered (and still is continuing) to shatter my world. It’s changed the way we do everything. Who would have thought that we’d be walking around in masks all the time? What a time to be alive. However, I also realized that some of these changes are actually good. Restaurants are finally sanitizing and cleaning the way they should have been all along, folks are cleaning their hands more regularly, and it’s really exposed just how under prepared we were as a nation for a public health emergency. Maybe now that field will get some of the respect it deserves.
Take a break. I’ve been saying since this started that I need to take a break, and I plan on doing that very soon. There is a lot of information out in the media right now, and it’s so important to filter what you take in. I like to be informed, but it can be overwhelming. Find the balance of staying informed and not taking so much in that you become anxious.
Self-reflection is hard. Again, I’ve had too much time to think. I am my biggest critic, and I am very harsh on myself. It’s one thing to take accountability for your actions, but it’s another to let that mistake keep living in your head. So yes, own up to your stuff, but take the lesson and then let it go, or whatever Elsa said.
No man is an island. When I’m going through something, I isolate. You can’t handle anything alone, so stop doing it. I understand not wanting to “put your issues on anyone”, but that’s what true friends and true community are for. Let those people be there for you, and vice versa.
It’s OK to admit that you are not OK. Make no mistake, this is not a normal time that we are living in, and it’s OK to let yourself feel. Let it out.
This will pass. Read it over and over. Get it in your mind, Believe it.
We got this.
Love always,
CDOG