QUESTIONS TO ASK ONESELF
If this is the new normal, at least for awhile, what do you want that new normal to look like?
How do you want to operate within the confines of our current experience?
The temptation— if indeed it is a temptation and perhaps tendency is a better word here— so there: The tendency of humankind will be of course to mourn and grieve our losses. And one should. There is plenty to grieve over. The normalcy of one's day has been significantly altered for some, and altered to some degree for everyone. But in setting up our new shop, I think the trick is to not carry that mourning around with us all day.
I'm not sure our natural instinct is to shape a new normal, when our old normal is what we want. We are inclined to float down the river we're in. But given the choices at hand, what will make us able to be as productive as one can be in an altered state? We will have to evaluate the choices that lay before us. They will consist mostly of small things. We will have to say what constitutes productivity. The metrics we live by will have to be adjusted.
But choosing to spend less time on or in your bed is probably a start. Choosing to interact in a more deliberate way with those who are around you seems like a good place to start. The smallest acts of companionship and service will be important here. The choices at first may seem limited, but the choices are there.
So I ask again: If this is the new normal, what do you want that normal to look like?
How do you want to operate within the confines of our current experience?
The temptation— if indeed it is a temptation and perhaps tendency is a better word here— so there: The tendency of humankind will be of course to mourn and grieve our losses. And one should. There is plenty to grieve over. The normalcy of one's day has been significantly altered for some, and altered to some degree for everyone. But in setting up our new shop, I think the trick is to not carry that mourning around with us all day.
I'm not sure our natural instinct is to shape a new normal, when our old normal is what we want. We are inclined to float down the river we're in. But given the choices at hand, what will make us able to be as productive as one can be in an altered state? We will have to evaluate the choices that lay before us. They will consist mostly of small things. We will have to say what constitutes productivity. The metrics we live by will have to be adjusted.
But choosing to spend less time on or in your bed is probably a start. Choosing to interact in a more deliberate way with those who are around you seems like a good place to start. The smallest acts of companionship and service will be important here. The choices at first may seem limited, but the choices are there.
So I ask again: If this is the new normal, what do you want that normal to look like?
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