Photo: tenkende (Envato Elements)
Dear friends,
How are you? It’s been a long, hard pandemic slog, but June- Pride month- is a great time to find our optimism. As a Gen Xer, I’ve seen a revolution in my lifetime in how we think about our LGBTQIA+ friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and it gives me hope that we can make progress towards racial and gender justice. I’m starting to feel like I can see my way through the fog of the past 15 months, and it’s a good time to take stock.
I have written about self-reflection before, and we have all had time (maybe too much time) for it over this isolating time. Instead, I challenge you to write down 20 pandemic victories. Now, I know some of the people reading this are recognized pandemic heroes who led their institutions’ COVID response team or started a new clinic or volunteered in NYC or the Navajo Nation. What would we have done without you?! I’m proud to know you.
Others are reading this email thinking, “I could have/ should have done more during the pandemic.” Don’t give in to guilt. You did what you could, and it was enough. Maybe your victory is that you’re still here, reading this right now. If you catch yourself saying, “I didn’t do nearly as much as [pandemic hero] did,” stop right now! Social comparison is not your friend.
I know that many of you are reading this in your email inbox, and you’ll move from this to your next message. I’m asking you to pause your routine, pick up your pen, and write down, on paper, 20 wins from the last 15 months. I just stepped away from this document and wrote down my wins, and it wasn’t easy to come up with 20 victories in such a horrible time. Looking at my list, though, I see that it reflects my priorities- family first, health equity, service, and lifelong relationships. Please make your list, and if you’re so inclined, share it with me. I’d love to share your victories, however small. A friend recently told me she wore real clothes to work, and to me, that counts as a win!
As we slowly emerge, feeling naked without our masks, with rusty social skills and lingering sadness, let’s try to be easier on ourselves and on each other, to take joy in inconsequential moments, and to simply keep going. Please do keep in touch and share the blog with anyone you think might enjoy it. Subscribe at the bottom of the page, here.
Warmly,
Urmimala