Returning Back to “Normal”
As this period of quarantine is seemingly coming to an end sometime in the future, or at least there are talks of it coming to an end, I’ve noticed -as I’ve spoken to friends and reflected on my own feelings- that it’s nerve-racking. I want to put out into the universe that anxiety is normal and anticipating change can provoke it!
As we as a society think about transitioning back to “normal”, there are a few things that come to mind.
The first word is acceptance. This word is a tricky one because it sometimes feels like accepting the world around us means relinquishing control. While that may be true, I find acceptance to be a form of how I practice mindfulness! What I mean by this is, accepting things that are out of our control just means there may be one less thing on our plate that we feel the need to change or correct. This can be applied to so many areas of our lives but for now, I want to challenge everyone reading this to work on accepting one thing in their life that they cannot change and be content with the decision to accept it.
The second word is safety. The safety of both mental and our physical health is so important. A question I keep asking myself is, how am I going to keep myself healthy when I start to interact with people in person again? That answer probably looks different for every single one of us. Personally, I’m going to make sure that I do not interact with anyone that feels sick, I’ll wash and sanitize my hands and will probably be wearing a mask for a little while. As for my mental health, one huge thing is creating boundaries. What I mean by that is making sure I do not overextend myself and do things that quite literally suck the energy out of me. As an introvert, returning to social interactions is going to be an adjustment, so I want to assure that I gift myself the space to take it slow.
The third word is comfort. The word comfort is intriguing to me for a few reasons. I find it to be empowering that I am the only one who can determine my comfortability. On the contrary, I’ve noticed and I find it fascinating that when myself or those around me feel out of control, the shared experience is an inability to get comfortable. Putting emphasis on this word brings me back to acceptance, empowerment, and working on finding a way to be content with things that we cannot change at that moment.
All of these concepts or feelings- however one may view it- are a form of understanding ourselves at that moment. Now, everyone has different perceptions and definitions of acceptance, safety, and comfort but one thing we as human beings have in common is the ability to feel those perceptions. I hope you’re able to hold the space you need for any and every feeling that shines through you.
Much Love,
Julia
