Isn’t it interesting that some of life’s most paradoxical challenges have simple solutions that are tough to execute? The takeaway? You are far more resilient than you think.
Original art by friend Becky Walker used with permission. There’s a virus in there!
Ever needed to lose weight? Simple solution; tough implementation. Especially over the long haul.
COVID19 presents us with this very idea. We know that social distancing is the answer to calming the spread, but as creatures of connection, it is so very hard to do for long periods of time. Parents are facing this challenge. Currently at home with their children, many are doing their best to homeschool and help them keep up with online classes and homework. Kids naturally want to be with their peers. This is doubly difficult for teens.
Those who must work at home currently and who crave the missing face-to-face interactions with their coworkers undergo this challenge as well. It amplifies the value of being able to walk down the hall and trouble shoot a problem or process a recent interaction.
But these times of challenge we face might be considered the the new normal. What is it they say? That death and taxes are the only certainty in life? I disagree. Change is the only certainty in life. We live in a world of change, and you can be certain there are more to come. But…
You Are Far More Resilient Than You Think
But I have a message for you. You are far more resilient than you think. You may differ in that opinion, but I firmly believe people are more resilient than they believe. We do face hard things periodically. We adapt, we endure, we create, we get frustrated, but we keep going. We get through it. I challenge you to look at your own past and see the evidence of this.
You are far more resilient than you think.–Page Rutledge, LCSW
I was listening to one of my past instructors tell the story of flooding in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin in 2018. She explained how devastating it was to be caught in the rising waters with many pressing their faces against the roofs of their cars waiting for help to escape. Many, many homes were ruined by flooding, and as one victim stated “Climate change never feels more real than when you’re dragging wet carpet from a flooded basement.” She reported it took Madison about four months to to snap back to a semblance of “normal.” And you never even heard about it.
In that time, she had to adapt her counseling business to an online format or go under. This was before it was commonplace to conduct telehealth sessions. She had to learn how to operate whole new HIPAA compliant platforms as well as begin to teach her courses online. Guess who was ahead of the curve this time around when the corona virus pandemic hit the globe? We have much to learn from disasters.
Change Is The New Constant
Many of us are learning new ways to conduct business. Some of the positive impacts of this will be more efficient ways of holding business meetings in the future, valuing our time more highly, and perhaps reducing the environmental footprint of unnecessary travel. The value of having students learn at their individual pace will be more readily appreciated. And no one will be able to deny the value of high quality public green spaces, or the richness the performing arts add to our lives, in all of their beautiful forms. And who knows, maybe we’ll adopt the Japanese bow instead of our traditional handshake greeting.
The small local food service businesses that have learned to pivot quickly with delivery and curbside pick-ups will survive, too. My husband’s yoga studio has likely been surprised at their success during this time, as classes fill, and more are added. Health care consults will be conducted much more efficiently with available online screening tools before having to go into a clinic setting.
Your children will do just fine, too. They will benefit by coming out on the other side of this worldwide pandemic knowing that they were loved and protected, and that life does indeed go on, even after a disaster of this magnitude.There is no need to prognosticate the worst about their futures, and it’s not helpful if you do.
Hold Them Tightly
So please know that you are far more resilient than you think. Another day will pass, and another, and soon it will be five years from now. We will have learned much about being better prepared, what to stockpile, and the value of time spent with those we love. Hold them tightly and make them feel safe and loved. And contact me here if you need help coping with corona anxiety.
