Hello everyone,
Eight weeks into self isolation and I’m experiencing a bit of quarantine fatigue… you?
I don’t normally struggle to write these newsletters, but I’ve found myself having difficulty coming up with what I want to say. It might be the groundhog day nature of life right now. Every day just some slight variation of the day before. From my routine with Charlie, to what’s being said on the news, to the feeling of quiet desperation creeping in.
At first, it was easy to see the benefit of this time. It was easy to talk about how this is our opportunity to slow down, to adapt, to reconnect. But for how long? At some point, haven’t we slowed and adapted and reconnected as much as we possibly can before going quietly insane?
I talk a lot about this with my one on one spiritual counseling clients. How we can experience what I call soul fatigue… there’s only so much internal work we can do at one time before we become exhausted from all the change. This can happen in many facets of life, actually. Whether it’s putting in 90 hour work weeks, or only taking care of others and never practicing self care, or constantly looking for a way to better ourselves. There’s a limit to how long we can do any of this before we simply need a break.
From my conversations with friends and family and clients, I think this is the point many of us are hitting now. The point where we’ve all realized what we want to get rid of and keep once we get back to our “normal” lives. So can’t we just get back to it already?
Some are. Some are choosing to slowly, carefully, enter back into society. Others view this as irresponsible- as being a selfish choice.
I want to take this newsletter to remind you to give yourself and others a little grace. We are all under stress, all struggling to figure out which media outlet to listen to. Which doctor knows best. Which family member has it right. Which mentor can properly show us the way. And we are all doing our best as we make our choices based on these factors and countless more- like whether or not we can afford to stay isolated. Whether our mental health can withstand yet another week of solitude or only our immediate family for companionship.
I’m here to tell you it’s ok. Whatever you’re feeling, however you are handling this, it’s ok. Probably my favorite of the articles I included below is the one regarding the risks of motivational pressure right now. You do not have to Marie Kondo your entire life for this time to be useful. You do not have to read every book, or listen to every podcast you’ve been meaning to for the past ten years. If you do these things, wonderful. But we all have enough pressure on us as it is to simply survive- so if you don’t do this, or if you decide to take a week off and just binge on the most recent Top Ten on Netflix- it’s ok.
I don’t know when this will end; I’m not even sure there is going to be a clear cut “end”. It will probably be a gradual reemergence, just as our decent into isolation was a gradual process. What I do know is that we all need to remember to give ourselves, and others, some grace right now, as we all navigate this experience to the best of our abilities.
Sending you all so much Love & Light,
Sarah
