Research has discovered that COVID, literally, changed the world. No doubt. Although we seem to be out of it, the past few years have been hard. In the beginning, I tried to make the most of it. But seemingly, the hits that shook me just kept coming. When you fundamentally believe in things, and those beliefs are constantly being tested, it leaves you a bit rattled.
Most of my followers here know me personally. You know my beliefs, my values, my interests, my work, and my involvement with the community. Although some of us have different views, you know my intentions are genuinely good. We are friends with mutual respect, and we can agree to disagree. We understand that discussing differences is what broadens our perspectives, and I so appreciate the opportunity to have open, kind, and inquisitive dialogue. Unfortunately, what I see in the world is differences dividing. And it makes me sad that we cannot learn from one another, because we are too close-minded to consider opposing viewpoints as different – not wrong, just different.
The more you understand yourself, the easier it is to understand others. For me, the past few years have been a lot about self-discovery. While I didn’t always like what I saw in myself, it really opened my eyes to what I do not like in others. And this has been a very harsh reality to face. People do not sit with their discomfort. They do not learn from their mistakes. They don’t put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They think other people owe them things, and they blame others for their faults – the list can go on. Generally, people focus on the outside world to bring them satisfaction rather than looking inward to satisfy themselves.
Philosopher Epictetus said, “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views in which they take of things.” If these last few years have taught me anything, it is that controlling the view in which I take of things is far more difficult than one would anticipate. It’s not surprising to me that people avoid sitting with their discomfort, do not learn from their mistakes, don’t put themselves in someone else’s shoes, think others owe them things, and blame others for their faults. Trying to get through and overcome what life throws at you can be F’ing hard.
I used to think living in the Information Age was a great thing. On one hand, I still do. On the other hand, the information we are fed is constantly negative. We should be more, do more, look better, eat healthier, yada, yada. None of these things are bad things, per se; they are standards to strive for in many respects. But they’re not individual and personal goals, they are collective societal standards telling us we are not enough. When you are fed this sort of messaging daily, it takes a lot of inner work to control the view in which you take it.
To summarize life over the past few years, fatigue is the word that comes to mind. The world has been …. chaotic, and I feel like my brain has been working overtime while trying to make sense of what is happening around me. It’s a lot to receive a constant barrage of messaging, then subsequently decipher what is within my ability to control and alter my view to come to some form of contentment with things as. they. are.
Since the start of the pandemic, it has been one thing after another, many being these existential things that can fundamentally change our lives that have become extremely heavy burdens to carry. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been walking around with some of them for three years. I’m tired.
We have to reflect on the load we carry individually and assess accordingly. My load my be heavier than some people’s and lighter than others, but everyone needs a break sometimes. At some point, we have to take a load off. You may not agree with which bag I choose to drop, but it’s also not up to you to judge or decide, not knowing the other bags I carry.
