chasing the wind
The challenge of letting go of what we can’t control can leave us feeling unnecessarily stressed.
This past year has been a dark time for us all. For the first time, at least in my lifetime, I saw my country in a period of spiraling chaos and pain. Most of us watched feeling helpless that all we could do to ease the strain of our nation was to sit on the couch as the numbers of loved ones lost grew each day. All the while, we were fighting for equality and justice, and pushing against the hatred being spread by the leader of the free world. We fought with each other during a time when we needed each other most. We tried to convince our neighbors and friends that we were worth protecting and they had the power to do so, just by wearing a face covering. They said “All Lives Matter.” but they refused to acknowledge our lives as worthy by undermining our cries for justice, saying their right to free speech held higher value than their fellow Americans’ lives. They said “Blue Lives Matter” until a “blue” life was against their agenda to kill anyone who stood in the way of what they believed was theirs to take.
And for so many of us, this month brought a much needed sense of hope. We collectively breathed the biggest sigh of relief after what felt like the longest four years of our lives. And even though we know the suffering is not yet behind us, that glimmer of hope has given us the strength to keep on going.
As we move into this new era, I want to invite you to reflect on what we’ve been through. I want you to think about how you felt when you saw our system failing us and it felt like no one cared. I want you to think about how it felt when you realized how prominent racism is today and how many people denied its existence at all. I want you to think about how it felt when you saw people around you ignore scientific data and refuse to protect the people around them from a virus that has killed almost half a million Americans. I want you to think about how it felt when you saw the people who chanted their “praise” for Jesus while they plotted to kill our elected officials. And most of all, I want you to think about how you felt when you saw a new president being sworn into office on January 20th.
Throughout this roller coaster of a year, you may have felt at one point that you were carrying the pain of a nation on your shoulders. But at some point, it became so normal to hear about death and suffering that we coped by suppressing and desensitizing ourselves to it all. This is me reflecting on a year of non-stop frustration and hopelessness. Let’s recognize everything we felt and send it off so that we can embrace this next era.
There are few things I know about life thus far as a twenty-something stumbling my way through adulthood. But one thing I know for certain is that dwelling on the emotions and situations that we have no control over is like chasing the wind. It will leave you exhausted, defeated and with nothing to show for your efforts. Instead, take comfort in knowing you are doing everything in your power to keep your family, friends and neighbors safe. And throughout all this, don’t forget to take care of yourself.
