These are Interesting Times…How Are You At Living In Interesting Times?
A health challenge now has our individual and collective worlds turned upside down. How are you dealing with it?
It’s a tired old quip that “Only babies like change.” (IKR) But, once we pass out of that “baby stage”, all of us gravitate to our “Comfort zones.” Our everyday vocabularies now include self-quarantine, curfew, mandatory closing, alcohol beverage take-outs, home-made hand sanitizers, panic and…(Add your words and phrases here.)
No one admits to panic behavior; but all will describe examples of observed panic behaviors, seen after just a few days of “guidelines” being implemented. What does “Panic” look like? Panic is characterized by a lack of rational thought, that when acted out, is observable in abnormal actions and acts toward others. And, panic can be contagious, like empty shelves of toilet paper and paper products, like using multiple grocery carts, one being pushed by a 10-year-old, to get around “2 per person quantity limits”, around people fighting and pulling hair. (Another example of why having hair is overrated.)
In your personal lives and in the workplace, each of you has the power-of-conscious-choice. Try reading the poem “IF” by Rudyard Kipling. Kipling proposes “..keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…” He’s got a good point. Never allow yourself to get into an argument with stupid people. They will bring you down to their level and then overwhelm you with their experience. There’s that conscious choice thing again. IKR
Surviving in difficult times calls for calm. (Easy to say, hard at times, to do.) Often, finding ways to be of help to others is win-win healthy. In the workplace, set the example of concern for others, for encouraging logical thinking to arrive at decisions, choosing your words and your tone in communicating. In your personal life, be aware of the lives around you. Can you shop, not only for yourself; but for an elder neighbor. While maintaining a “social distance”, could you check on neighbors you aren’t seeing out and about?
And, here is a random thought observation. The anxiety you may be feeling…could it be the “routine and every day” for a person who deals with anxiety every day? This could be an excellent “learning opportunity”. (I can’t take credit for this epiphany, it came from one of my daughters.)
Stay healthy of mind and body.
Comments