Re-opening
There’s been a lot of “discussion” about plans to reopen things in our communities after a period of “staying home”. I find myself reading the arguments for/against allowing for more businesses to reopen with this weird feeling of “unsettled” and “discomfort”, and, honestly, a place of resistance…..and that resistance, I’ve discovered, doesn’t have anything to do with the science of spreading the virus, or the economics of reopening the economy. This weekend, I recognized this feeling…. I felt the same way when the debris trucks started clearing away all the debris that Hurricane Michael had left behind. It’s a weird mix of being grateful for what is coming and feeling like something good is coming to an end.
I don’t feel this resistance because I don’t want to move to something better (I certainly do). It comes from a place of questioning whether we will actually move on to something better, or whether we will quickly backslide into where we were before. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, there was a community spirit and unity that was so wonderful, even amidst a horrible situation. And, in so many ways, that spirit dissipated, and even disappeared as we got back to “normal.” I fear that the same will happen as we resume our lives in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Quite frankly, I don’t want to go back to where we were before…yes, I want people who have lost their jobs to have the ability to support themselves, and yes, I want people who are sick to get better, but I don’t want to go back to where we were “before”….hurried, hassled, harried. It seems that we appreciate things differently now (just ask anyone who used to think that teachers had an “easy” job but is now working very hard to make sure their kiddos don’t fall behind), but will we continue to do so? How do we capture the good of this time, and keep it?
I have some thoughts about how we can do this. I think if we can:
Recognize what is good
Prioritize what is good
Let go of what isn’t good
Refuse to backslide
Then we have a chance to forge a tomorrow that really is better than yesterday.
So, what are some of the beautiful things from this current season that I hope will continue?
First, I hope that we have a greater understanding that we are all connected. It is so easy to move in our own “bubbles” and be unintentional about creating, sustaining, and protecting the connections in our life. When those connections are interrupted, we feel it. I have been reminded that connection does not have to be done within a 6 ft radius….we can be connected in lots of ways, and I hope we continue to practice the new means of being connected that we’re using during this time of isolation/quarantine. I also hope that we remember that what affects one of us affects us all. I may not be the one who was without a job for weeks, but when someone in my community is suffering, my community suffers, and that affects me. We have seen, and hopefully are learning/being reminded, that we are all in this together…..I don’t mean that we are in the “same boat” because I don’t believe that is true, but we are all in the same storm…..and it is a storm that no one person can solve alone. I hope we truly continue to live with the understanding that we are better together… ”flattening the curve” is an example of this… by being willing to be inconvenienced, we are guarding our “collective well-being” and while each of us can do our part, we can’t do it alone… we need each other.
These lessons, or reminders, are important, and if it takes shutting down or taking a pause to remember/learn them, it is worth it… IF we continue to live and love this way. If we rush to get back to “how it used to be” then I’m afraid we will have missed the greatest blessing and lesson of this situation….and I hope we don’t miss it.