The answer to the question everyone is asking — "When will this be over?" — might be simple and obvious, yet extremely hard to accept. The answer is never. This global pandemic will change the way we move, live, learn, and connect. There is simply no way that our lives will resume as if this had never happened. The emotionally and spiritually sane response is to prepare to be forever changed. And many of us are understanding that there is much more to life than just working and we are rediscovering the importance of culture, conversation and contact.
We are very lucky in many ways these days, that we do have access to limitless information and to each other via digital technology, all the social media apps and virtual platforms. It gives some of us the possibility to work remotely from where ever, text and video call our family and friends instantly, and let them know we are ok. And now more than ever, we realise that all of those conversations keep us afloat. As the world got hit with this current SHITuation, most of our personal plans went out the window — the same window we keep looking out of during possible lockdowns — so we have to figure out new ways to be and feel that we are in contact with others. During this time, I bet the true nature of the people around you will be revealed with total clarity. You will have confirmations and surprises that will guide you to hold on and build better relationships. Even with yourself. Please give yourself the chance to find yourself again, take the time to think about what you value most, what cultural customs you wish to keep in your life, if you will have to improvise of doing other things somehow. And really pay attention to how you think, speak and act. In your mind, to yourself and with yourself. Journaling is one great way to start a new intentional habbit of the life-long journey of self-discovery. And to give yourself the space and time to make some sense of all your emotions.
On that note, I would like to encourage you to mainly ignore the people who are either posting that they are super efficient or the people who are complaining that they cannot get anything done. They are on their own journey. Cut out the noise. Now more than ever, we are allowed to abandon the performance driven lifestyle and embrace the more authentic kind. You now have a chance to focus on real internal change. But your essential mental shifts require humility and patience. It's perfectly alright to slow down. Let this distract you. Let it change how you think and how you see the world. Because this experience will change how you perceive yourself as an individual for good.
Just try to remember, that we are all doing the best we can in this situation. So let go of all of the unnecessary ideas you have about what you should be doing right now. Your mind and body will adjust, and you will crave challenges that are more demanding. Given time, your brain can and will reset to new crisis conditions, and your ability to do higher-level work will resume. But right now, denial only serves to delay the essential process of acceptance, which will allow you to reimagine yourself in this new reality. On the other side of this journey of acceptance are hope and resilience.
And those are the values we all should hold on to the most. Because none of us knows how long this crisis will last. Maybe it would be wise to emotionally prepare for this crisis to continue for 12 to 18 months, followed by a rather slow recovery. If it ends sooner, we shall all be pleasantly surprised. But know that there will be a day when the pandemic is over. One day, we will return to our favourite places and coffee shops. Our borders will eventually reopen to freer movement. Our economies will one day recover from the forthcoming recessions. The actual future which is unknown both to you and I, we can only state that when all of this is over, the world won’t be the same. Hopefully it will be a more compassionate and gentle one.
What ever happens next, I have to say how grateful I am, that I am a hugger, that I am not afraid of physical connection - even though it needs to be on hold for nownow.. - that I tend to show my affection clearly to everyone, old and new friends. So, especially now that I can reminisce about the past happy months I've had, I don't regret one hug, nor dance party in my kimono! I have found authentic soulmates, who have made me practice patience and acceptance way ahead of this.
So thank you, please stay safe and I cannot wait to be able to hug you again!
xoxo,
Kiti
