TIME FOR REFLECTION AS WE EMERGE FROM COVID-19

It is 100 days since lockdown began and we are heading into July 2020. The world is emerging from Covid-19 ever-so cautiously (I hope) and oh-so changed.

Since March the virus and the reality of living through lockdown have challenged every aspect of our lives. It has been a period of profound evaluation on every level. A time layered with complexity.

The experiences of going into lockdown, living through the realities of it and now emerging from it have taught us a lot. We have learnt about connection (technological & human), access to nature, what gives us purpose, what family and our support networks mean to us, how we work, where we work, commuting, leisure travel, vulnerability, trust, faith, patience, plus our physical and mental wellbeing.

Throughout lockdown, channelling and processing our emotions has been essential and a learning experience for many. People have discovered (and often re-discovered) cooking, baking, arts, craft, gardening, exercise; a plethora of physical and creative activities. Being forced to slow down and live our lives in far more detail seems to have nudged us toward their therapeutic benefits; where attention, time and our projected thoughts help us to re-value how we spend our days; who we spend them with, what it really takes to make things and persevere; a real insight into how we manage our time, thoughts, resilience and what defines our progress.

So, at the cusp of what has is being called “the new normal”, “the green recovery ” or “the great re-set” our emergent steps will be guided by everything we’ve processed over recent months; what do we want to keep from our pre-Covid world, what are we happy has changed and won’t give up, and what will we keep a watchful eye on as we and society re-establish and re-connect.

This reflection may have a very different feeling to previous reflections you may have done. It will not be a direct comparison between the beginning of the year and now. It will have the added dimension of the influences of Covid-19.

I have also changed the format slightly by including a Wheel of Life exercise toward the end.

At the very minimum, I hope that this reflection will capture a snapshot of this period in time.

What I would like for it to achieve for you is that you come away with a benchmark of what was the norm, an idea of what is happening now, what you want the new norm to be and how you want to live it.

“Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or the last time“, Betty Smith. Truer than true today!

Michael Laffey