Living through a pandemic is challenging us all, in one way or another, especially in the days of lockdown when there were very few acceptable reasons for leaving our homes. In the midst of that, many were chafing at their loss of freedom even when they knew there were good reasons for this strategy. And even now, when we have more licence to be out and about, it’s a challenge to adapt to ongoing requirements for wearing masks and distancing.
As Brené Brown says, this is the time for courage over comfort.
Comfort is so tempting.
Retreating to the familiar makes us feel safe. And that’s what our primal, survival brain wants above all, to keep us safe.
Comfort can be found in something as tangible as a food that your grandma used to make or as intangible as your viewpoint on how the world works. Continue reading
When COVID hit my community, I first felt discombobulated. That seemed perfectly understandable.
But three months in, I was experiencing a deep sense of fatigue. That surprised me because I thought I should be feeling better, not worse, once I knew the protocols and developed new habits. But there I was—feeling out of sorts and profoundly tired of the whole thing.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one. In the midst of my wallowing in that unhappy place, I heard an episode of Tapestry that directly addressed what I was feeling. They were discussing the experience of moral fatigue that arises when we are faced with making decisions where there are no right answers and yet we can’t do nothing.
“Unprecedented” must be the most over-used word in the English language right now. I’m tired of it. Especially because it’s used so often without thought.
Unprecedented means never done or known before; never having happened or existed in the past. True, the specific COVID variation of the coronavirus is new (hence the name novel coronavirus). But If we’re talking about pandemics, there’s nothing new there. Humans have experienced them throughout recorded history.
