Living in The Twilight Zone?

How many times in the last few weeks have you awakened struggling to figure out what day it is or what you’re supposed to be doing?  How often have you languished in bed, bolted out of it to get to work, only then to realize that you’re not going anywhere?  You’ve almost missed a conference call, a work commitment or an appointment to see a rep for a loan!

Have you looked out of your window to see a large swath of blue sky or beautiful spring flowers popping with color and then wondered why you felt slightly off?  Are you feeling less grounded, more tentative or perhaps disoriented?  Although these feelings might have been unfamiliar to you and your life circumstances in the past, today they are all too common.   Each and every one of us is living in a time where what was once normative seems like part of a dream or a distant past. 

As a result of all the sudden shifts that the COVID19 pandemic has thrust upon us, many feel as though our options are either severely restricted or have evaporated entirely. What is behind us will remain there forever.  What tomorrow holds has much uncertainty.  These unchartered times demand that our focus be on the “we,” rather than the “me!” Depending upon our abilities and willingness to step out of our comfort zones the possibilities can be significant.  The emotional, interpersonal and cultural potentials within us, our communities and our world may surprise you.   They are there waiting to be uncovered and discovered. So where and how do we go from here?

Clearly our goal is to tame COVID19 into a manageable microbe!  However, in order to overcome this “beast,” as the frontline workers reference this virus, it is imperative that we remain focused and acutely aware.   Our success is a product of our efforts as individuals, communities and a nation. Our individual determination to integrate the newly established behavioral guidelines established to protect ourselves and one another is of the utmost importance. 

Our understanding and incorporation of the New Normal into our lives must include an understanding of the effect of prioritizing the “We” over the “Me.”

Our strength is in an appreciation that what we share in common is far greater than that which divides us. First we must look within as we move forward in contributing to the greater good through an appreciation of the WE, using the ME to potentiate this.