Collective Cocktail of Chaos during pandemic times: How to live with it.
Time is a crazy concept. Sometimes a minute feels like ten, and one week passes by in a second. Well, I certainly don't want to ruin this moment but it is almost a year since March 2020: The Lockdown. I will let you tell me if it felt like a year or like a decade.
One year.
What’s in a year? Almost just like the famous What's in a name, by William Shakespeare. Years are normally full of different events, ups and downs, learnings, and wonderful experiences, but this last year really wanted to compete with modern history.
I do know that pandemics are part of the course of life, as well as change. I personally believe that change is the only constant of the universe and avoiding it equals not understanding how humans work. Nonetheless, I think we would have appreciated a bit less of this collective cocktail of chaos- which by the way is still going on and will probably be for a while.
Don’t get me wrong, I am very worried about the ‘panorama’ (this is how I will refer to the pandemic from now on. I read is great to substitute words that make you feel negative things- you know, to trick your brain), but I am currently more worried about the mental health issues we are all facing and the future consequences. Even if you made the effort to be a balanced human, nobody is educated or programmed to handle the passing of millions of people at once. A lot of people say that this-panorama- is the war we had to live. Still, no, nobody is mentally ready to handle this.
We were taught ‘everything is gonna be fine’. I’m here to tell you, my dear friend, everything is not gonna be fine, but that is just alright.
Some of us arrive in adulthood with less than a clue of how to accept our growing, death, distance, loneliness, sickness, how to handle being confused, having feelings, or managing conflict. And suddenly- out of nowhere (although this is arguable, I don’t know if this virus is natural or created BUT that is a whole different conversation), we are forced to welcome all of this into ours lives.
I want to say that even if this year was hard I am privileged because my family was and is still healthy, we continue to work, we could ‘easily’ adapt to the adversities. We are able to look past the barriers of these circumstances, something that I know does not come easy for many families. And this is where my mind goes a lot even in moments when I'm struggling with my own battles.
We are all drunk from this collective chaos cocktail, so let’s try to keep the B.S aside and be kinder and have more compassion for one another.
Seriously. Let’s try. I’m gonna give you, my dear reader, 5 ways to know to surf around this moment and how to make it better for others:
1. Find what brings you peace of mind and make it a habit
Believe me, when you are occupied doing what is best for you- you are not gonna have the need to fight with the world. Also, even if the external forces are trying to tear you down YOU will be in peace and will be (a little bit more) grounded. Read, meditate, exercise, sleep, create, write, watch old movies- whatever it is that makes you really happy. When we are balanced and focusing on what matters to us we don’t pay attention to how the next person is living their life.
2. Choose what to let in your aura
This is something I have been practicing for the past two months. Every time someone says something to me I choose if I accept that input or not. By doing this I do not carry comments around that make me feel negative emotions, I don't overthink and I don’t identify with whatever they have to say. Personally, this has helped me to be more confident about myself and my values. We all have opinions and even if they are well-intended they could hurt, or change the actual way we perceive something. Be really selective of what you let in.
3. Don’t give unsolicited advice and DO NOT JUDGE
Don't be the person someone chooses to NOT let in their aura. Judging other's choices- especially during hard times like this- says more about you than it says about them.
4. Be grateful
If you start practicing this I promise your life will change course.
If something bad happens to you try to remember something good that happened that day or any other day. Maybe think about that delicious breakfast you had, or the amazing support your best friend gave to you the other day when you needed it. Be grateful for the things that matter most and you will feel better.
Be honest while doing this- and don’t lie to yourself. If you can’t find it in you to be grateful then don't fake it till you make it. You might end up making it worst for you.
5. Be compassionate and leave your ego at home. Please.
The good thing about the collective chaos cocktail is that we are all going through something at the same time. If you allow me ill give you a piece of advice: Your problems are not bigger or worst than other’s problems. You don’t know how something might affect someone and this is why it is important that you make the effort to understand others and be kinder, more mature, be the bigger person. Again, you will feel a lot better about yourself if you practice the art of empathy.
Even if this past year has been hard I am still grateful for it. I have grown so much and learned so many valuable lessons that will follow me around the world from now on. I am a bit tired of feeling vulnerable and powerless regarding the panorama and the restrictions (I live in Madrid and restrictions change every two weeks), but it is what it is. I have chosen to accept that the situation is not going to last forever- and if it does… I’ll figure it out, just like I always do.
For now, I am going to keep drinking my cocktail and enjoy the disruptive moment we are going through. Accept the energy, grow with it, get a little drunk on your discomfort, or just a margarita- I can’t really tell you how to live. Remember we are all in the same hypothetical bar where nothing is permanent.
I hope you enjoyed my first Medium story.
