Let’s Hold On To This: Finding a Silver Lining in the Pandemic
For those of us who tend to look on the bright side of any situation, for those of us whose catchphrase is “well, it could have been worse,” last year was a real struggle. For many of us, the whole year felt like one assault after another.
But as we begin to emerge from the pandemic, it is clear that many of us found positives in our experiences, things we want to keep as we move forward into whatever the future looks like.
As I’ve surveyed friends and connections about what they want to hold onto, there are common themes that continue to surface.
We Deepened and Winnowed Our Relationships
As our world shrank seemingly overnight, we found ourselves free of social requirements to attend a business event or a friend of a friend’s birthday bash. We remembered who in our life truly mattered. Many of us, in the course of checking in with people we were concerned about, reconnected on a regular basis with dear old friends. These were people who were once a large part of our lives but who, through time and distance and general distraction, grew apart from us.
But when we thought we might lose them to death or disease, we recommitted to those friends. Now, we will not let them go or take them for granted.
“I want to stay connected to those who used to be in my life all the time (college roommates) but have only seen a few times in the last 20 years. Even though our lives are different now those connections are no less stabilizing and important.”- Kelly
We also looked to our closest relationships and found that we had much more space and time to simply enjoy one another’s company.
“Having 2 twenty somethings sons living with us this past year has given us the opportunity for meaningful, uninterrupted conversations about life, politics, careers, dating and sacrifice. It’s been freeing and wonderful to just “be” with ourselves and each other” — Kathy
We Learned To Recognize What Matters
Pre-pandemic many of us were on a hamster wheel of work/eat/sleep/repeat, the wheel moving faster and faster. We prided ourselves on being busy, of never having a moment to spare. Everything had to be jam-packed. And then? Silence. Boredom. Fear. There weren’t a lot of distractions. Of course, we binged on Netflix and baked more bread than we could eat, but as we began to see that everything we had taken for granted was being stripped away, we found ourselves holding tightly to the things we needed to survive and maybe even thrive.
What did we find mattered most?
“The “pause” made me realize that how we spend our time matters. Spending it with people we care about, appreciating them and making that a priority is number one. And it is the best way I can think of to honor all those that lost their lives.” Joan
“What is important has changed from things to people” -Sandy
Many of us realized that our lives had become too complex.
“Moving forward, I plan to continue to cultivate and embrace the simplicity in and of all things. Backing out of habitual patterns led me to realize how unnecessarily complicated my life had become in all aspects.” -Tammy Lyons, Founder Inner Bliss Yoga Studio
“I have always, always, been a workaholic. I’m naturally adrenalized, naturally curious; my work life has always been my personal life, too… My career, despite — or maybe because of — the intensity, stress and very hard work, has always been exciting. I’ve been able to write about/examine the worlds of music, culture, entertainment, fashion, beauty, health — and write first person essays…. when the pandemic started a year ago, I thought I’d lose my mind. Instead, I started hiking on the beach with (boyfriend)Tom two hours a day. I started cooking — like many other people, but I didn’t make bread. I tried my hand at various Asian dishes, then tried harder and harder ones. Now I feel like I could make almost anything — and I taught myself…All in all, I learned that as you get older, LIFE is more important than work.” — Merle Ginsberg, writer
We found joy in our freedom to choose to be present for our lives.
We Found the Power in Collective Generosity
Yes, we hunkered down but as the pandemic rolled across the planet, we also were brought up against the stark and beautiful interconnection of all life.
Our neighbors lost jobs and needed food so we filled free refrigerators where food was free for the taking, no questions asked. We doubled donations to our local foodbanks and volunteered at food distribution sites. We found ways of connecting our local farmers to foodbanks, supporting the farmers and the hungry.
Our first responders, health care and frontline workers needed scarce PPE and, here in my county, people literally donated millions of pieces of PPE to distribute to more than 1400 organizations.
Children needed cheering up on their birthdays so we made signs and stood outside their houses to show them how much they are loved.
We banged pots and clapped and played music for one another.
We lifted our heads and took a look at the need and despair around us and we found ways to soothe and rejoice and thank.
We learned that there is nothing more important than our relationships to ourselves, to our lives and to one another.
Let’s not lose sight of each other ever again.
