3 Things We Should Keep Around From The Pandemic (And 3 Things We Should Pitch . . .)

Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced during his press conference yesterday that after Colorado's Stay at Home orders end April 26th, some restrictions related to Covid-19 would be gradually lifted. Many welcome a feeling of a light at the end of the tunnel, others are gripped in fear at the change, and others state we should never return to normal, that our old normal was deeply flawed and this is our chance to reinvent ourselves. This is a good time, as we can see a slow path forward through the global pandemic, to reflect on some of the good and bad things we've seen in our society through the lens of this pandemic- things we should keep and things we should indeed purge.

3 Things We Should Keep:

1. More time together as a family/ free time as a result of diminished busy-ness: Although some of our time together was angst filled and some was filled with squabbling, I witnessed my children turning towards each other for companionship not previously seen in our home. More opportunities for family games, family walks, and dialogue around family dinners was a silver lining of the Stay at Home orders seen around our home, and I've heard from others that they witnessed the same. Let's continue to value the time spent together with those in our household and try not to overfill our schedules when we are able resume more activities. for

For those without a family at home, many found peace in extra time to be creative, extra time to pray, or even in extra time to just be quiet with one's thoughts. On the other hand, many essential workers did not experience any downtime at all. Hopefully as a society, we will grow to value more unscheduled time and I hope our essential workers will get a lull in turn.

2. Care for our community: We're calling and checking on each other. We're volunteering our time and donating goods. We're sewing each other masks and we're wearing them; not to protect ourselves, but to protect others. We're sacrificing for the common good! We're coming together virtually for prayers and fasting. We are working on new solutions to help the most vulnerable in our society, such as additional housing for homeless individuals. Let us continue to show this level of concern for our community and our world as we go forward!

3. More involvement in our children's education: Whether we liked it or not, most parents in our country were forced by circumstances to begin some sort of homeschooling. Through this, we became more aware of a couple of things. Firstly, the care and compassion of our children's teachers and learning teams, and their skills and neuroplasticity are remarkable! Secondly, we can teach our children new things- whether it is a quick life lesson in cooking or laundry or a more in-depth philosophical discussion with our teens, we remember again that we can teach our children. Let us remember to teach our children what we value, who they are, our cultural heritage, love of nature, and anything else we want to be our family's legacy.

3 Things We Should Purge:

1. Constant Updating: Sure, information can be a good thing. However, our information overload, with constant new messaging from news, social media, phones, email inbox, et al began to feel to many like a big part of the problem. So much information to sift through! Add to this the battle between conflicting information, disinformation and, understandably, overuse of media to fill our time. In guides from my workplace sent out to help employees cope with Covid 19, measures such as limiting social media usage and ensuring adequate sleep were encouraged. Common sense, but how easy to forget! These simple mental health protections will bolster our overall health in turn.  Going forward, it would be good if we could recognize the need for more balance in this realm.

2. Distrust: How much do we distrust our fellow man? How much do we distrust our government? Our President? Corporate America? How much do we distrust the scientists at work looking for solutions? At one point or another, I've seen posts focused on distrust regarding all of these factors! One of these entities is the villain of the pandemic! You've seen the posts on conspiracy theories: the CDC is recording all deaths as Covid-19, this political party is hell bent on destroying XYZ, and the other is hell bent on the opposite.

I am not normally a paranoid person. But I will admit, there was one time or another during the pandemic that my fears made some of these concepts seem plausible. As the government restricted our movement, I was assailed  with  thoughts of Star Wars: Episode 2- where Senator Palpatine gets the powers granted to him that allow him to become Emperor ultimately. I've always been one in the line of thinking of Benjamin Franklin's famous quote:

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

These losses of liberty are considered a selfish, minor concern by some, to others they represent everything that is wrong with the current situation. 

Either way, we can begin to put those fears behind us as liberties are returned to us bit by bit. Our leaders, we can continue to pray, are working hard to provide measures that will allow us to slow the spread of the pandemic in ways that we can live with for a while. I

We can also be trustworthy to others in our society by following the continuing recommendations for mask wearing and increased hand washing. Following the laws and guidelines as they unfold also demonstrates to our kids that we should obey the laws of the land even when we find them unpalatable.

3. Toxic Levels of Fear and Stress: So many are living in fear. Fear is a normal and natural reaction to this pandemic. However, fears are behind the scapegoating that causes us to blame the pandemic on foreigners, blame the spread on idiots who aren't following the rules, blame the deaths of elderly folks on foolish young people, and blame politicians for various and sundry things. In reality, this pandemic should be a reminder that we don't have the power to control everything, especially how this pandemic unfolds. The government can't keep everyone safe from everything. It's simply outside of their scope!

We know that fear feeds stress. Stress leads to long term health consequences like high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Fear based decision making is problematic at best.  Trying to let go of some of the fear, and using common sense to help us let go of those things that are low risk and focus on reducing our overall risks can help us protect ourselves from toxic levels of stress and fears.