How are you bearing up in this strange and seemingly endless time?
In years to come, we will look back at this period with wonder and incredulity. We will be amazed by how we were stretched and challenged by all that we have been confronted with and by. We will be in awe of all that we endured and overcame. And hopefully we will be able to celebrate the positive changes that were catalysed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
But in the meantime, we are in the middle of what feels like the greatest endurance test of our generation. There is no escaping the uncertainty, unpredictability and outrage that are becoming more pressing and more apparent. Every time we go online, watch TV or listen to the radio, we are updated on social, economic and health horrors. Every time we go outside, the face masks we have to wear and see others wearing, remind us of the way our world has changed. The current crises are in (and on) our face – both literally and figuratively – all the time.
It is exhausting.
Every time we see, hear, remember or talk about the current calamities, we experience a surge of adrenaline and anxiety. The constant exposure to brutal truth is contributing to our overwhelm, fear for the future and Covid Fatigue. Of course, we need to be informed and educated and challenged; we cannot expect change without deep reflection and understanding.
And we also need to take a break every now and then.
We need to take breaks from the news, from social media, from the constant chatter we are surrounded by. And those of us who are working from home need to take breaks between online meetings, eat lunch away from our desks, stop work at the end of the day, treat weekends the way they should be treated, take a small holiday; many of us haven’t had even a mini-break this year as lockdown got in the way of our holiday plans.
We need to take a break from anxiety and stress and find time to recharge, restore and regroup. Even if it is for just a few minutes, putting down the worries of the world will help to lift us up.
I hope that you are able to give yourself some breaks this month. Next Tuesday is Youth Day – a perfect opportunity for a four-day weekend.
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