Insights are often a gift of crisis. Especially if we take time to notice. The stealth of our current crisis has so many of us on edge that it may be hard to feel anything other than fear and anxiety. I am grateful for those who are inviting me to pay attention to all that I have to be grateful for.
But I am also conscious of another way of noticing. I am aware of things that are being lost. Or I am aware of my fear of loss. One of the losses I have experienced is the illusion that I could control my life by the decisions I make. I am not sure what decision is best. I have believed that I could stay safe if I protect myself those those who might harm me. But, now, simply standing in a grocery line might harm me. Or I might harm others. And neither of us would even know we did.
As a result of the loss of this illusion that I can make decisions that will protect me, I am becoming aware of how much my well-being depends on others. As I slow down and notice what I have lost, I become much more thoughtful of what really matters to me. I am touched by people reaching out to me to offer help ( I’m not accustomed to being part of the vulnerable population). By naming our losses in this crisis I think we can gain insight into what we really value in life.
The world is changing. It is yet to be determined how this crisis will impact our futures. We are having to mourn the loss of the world we knew a few weeks ago. We will have to learn to live with the world that is emerging. It helps us to grieve well if we can notice and name what we are losing so we might have insight into what we want our life to be on the other side of these losses. So, while my spirits are lifted by remembering the good gifts of this day and this time, I am taking notice of what I have lost and what I am afraid of losing to help me know what really matters in the life that is emerging.
(Here is an article from the Harvard Business Review that helps us think about this. “That Discomfort You Are Feeling is Grief” by Scott Berinato) https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief?fbclid=IwAR2K-gNqqSn41L3l8Uen7OlDapXp4A9nhGgl_vMzDUpk6fizObenXKv8l1o