The lockdown journal: Embrace the struggle
The struggle is real, for all of us. So many things that we used to take for granted are now taken away, leaving us in despair. Maybe you're someone who's struggling with household chores. Or maybe you find your productivity at work seriously affected. Maybe you're an extrovert who's feeling cooped up at home. Maybe you're a student bogged down by the uncertainty of your postponed exams and graduation. Maybe you're someone who lost their job. Someone who feels anxious and depressed every time you read the news. Someone whose wedding has been postponed. A performer whose shows have all been cancelled. A tourist who has been unable to go back to their homeland. So many people, so many struggles.
As human beings, our greatest strength is our ability to adapt. But before we do that, in my humble opinion, we must paint an honest picture of our reality. Denial is a powerful coping mechanism indeed, but we cannot fix things if we do not first acknowledge that they are broken. Social media often verges on extremes, and we might see a very rosy picture of people's lives that makes us then feel alone in our despondence. Remember, most people use social media to take snapshots of the best moments of their day. That does not mean every moment of their day was true to that snapshot.
Embrace your struggle, whatever it might be. Find a way to channelize it, whatever that might be for you. Write about it if you wish. Sing about it.(One of my favorite artists, Jayanthi Kumaresh: The journey within) Dance about it.(My sister-in-law, Anima Anandkumar, chose dance: Belly dancing to cope with self-isolation during COVID crisis)Talk about it to your near and dear ones. Express that struggle and loss of control. Seek solace. Know that there is nothing wrong in doing so. Your problems are not trivial. Reach out to people who are close to you. Ask them how they're doing. Offer what comfort you can.
Let us not pretend that we're fine and distance ourselves emotionally as well. Let's use this time to make our connections even stronger. :)
As human beings, our greatest strength is our ability to adapt. But before we do that, in my humble opinion, we must paint an honest picture of our reality. Denial is a powerful coping mechanism indeed, but we cannot fix things if we do not first acknowledge that they are broken. Social media often verges on extremes, and we might see a very rosy picture of people's lives that makes us then feel alone in our despondence. Remember, most people use social media to take snapshots of the best moments of their day. That does not mean every moment of their day was true to that snapshot.
Embrace your struggle, whatever it might be. Find a way to channelize it, whatever that might be for you. Write about it if you wish. Sing about it.(One of my favorite artists, Jayanthi Kumaresh: The journey within) Dance about it.(My sister-in-law, Anima Anandkumar, chose dance: Belly dancing to cope with self-isolation during COVID crisis)Talk about it to your near and dear ones. Express that struggle and loss of control. Seek solace. Know that there is nothing wrong in doing so. Your problems are not trivial. Reach out to people who are close to you. Ask them how they're doing. Offer what comfort you can.
Let us not pretend that we're fine and distance ourselves emotionally as well. Let's use this time to make our connections even stronger. :)
Our struggles are nothing but privilege. That's what I feel despite not being okay with all the struggle with lockdown.
ReplyDeleteEvery meal I eat, I am almost brought to tears about the thought that someone else may not be getting their meal.
Agree, millions of people are being deprived of fundamental resources and have it much harder. We, on the other hand, face hardships of privilege which are still hardships for us because our baselines of comparison are drastically different. While we must try and help people who are not as privileged as we are, it is also good to have empathy for our own privileged struggles, even if they seem relatively trivial. :)
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