Holy shit…it has been a minute since I last blogged! but I want to thank my girlfriend Natalie LaFrance for today’s blog inspo!
So it is April 4th 2020 and we are actively living in a pandemic! Saying the word ‘pandemic’out loud has been weird, but to write it is even weirder. While I know from a logical standpoint that the things that we are now required to do – physical distancing, working from home, reducing our exposure to the world – is all part of our responsibility as members of our community to move past this moment in history, to say it has been an adjustment is an understatement.
From the closures of businesses, to government financial relief, to the grueling fight that our front line and essential workers have undertaken as a result of COVID-19 has left me extremely mindful of the state of being we are all under.
As we all navigate these unchartered waters, one of the things that I continue to hear (and have even said myself ) is “is this the new norm?” For most of us, prior to COVID-19 we were all pretty regimented in our day to day activities. Between our work schedules, kids activities, side businesses, and other responsibilities, I think most of us were pretty comfortable with the “normalcy’ we had grown accustomed to. Like all things that bring change, there is hesitation and uncertainty – shit even straight up resistance – but when presented with what we have been presented with, our discomfort with change is no longer a factor as acclimating yourself to the change is critical to life and death.
For many of us, at the onset we attempted to maintain as much as we could to ease the stress that often comes with change, but as we enter into week 3 of a three month sentence, the question that stands as the premise of this blog must be asked – what expectation of “normal” am I letting go of?
You see I am a very regimented individual (I DEFINITELY get that trait from my father..lol). In order for me to move through my day with the least amount of disruption and chaos and always with the aim of achieving my desired daily goals, creating somewhat of a repetitive routine allows me to maintain balance, however COVID-19 has totally fucked that up and forced me to step back and really look at my expectations of ‘normal’.
The truth is, what we are experiencing is the new normal and therefore I must expect to let go or at least be open to letting go of the things that were previously part of what was ‘normal’ before. Our desire to hold on to what we knew before serves as a both a security blanket (cause it is things and processes we know) and control over things that truthfully are fully out of our control!
Over the last three weeks I have intentionally changed my mindset around these new conditions, preventing myself from going down the rabbit hole of what isn’t and instead channeling that energy into what can be. If I am consciously seeking opportunities to make things happen – then I need to also let go of what was part of ‘normalcy’ before – because the two can not actually move harmoniously.
If we think about hardships, obstacles or barriers we have faced in our life, the process of letting go is truly cathartic. From those experiences we never seek to keep things status quo but instead look for a new ‘normal’ and yet during this pandemic so many of us are putting additional stress on ourselves to keep things as normal as possible. Straight the fuck up – there ain’t NOTHING normal about what we are living in and so let go of what was and create a new normal.
Unless you are already a parent who home schools their kids, makes three meals (and maybe more) a day, bakes, does crafts, does daily walks and anything else that we are doing to make the days impactful – this shit ain’t status quo so stop trying to bring what was normal into this circumstance!
Letting go of what we are comfortable with is never easy – but I implore you to not see it as letting go but instead creating a new chapter in your personal and family life.
