Well our world has been completely rocked by COVID-19, the coronavirus, and all of our plans for 2020 are changed in an instant. We, like so many others, are on shelter-in-place status until further notice, which I find to be comforting (as well as frustrating and difficult and all of the other things). It’s nice to have certainty that we are where we should be, at home, in solidarity and protecting the more vulnerable among us.
My family and I had started keeping at home about a week early, thinking that this was coming and with encouragement from our workplaces. This means that we join the legions of parents trying to figure out how to work from home, parent, home school, and also maintain some sense of normalcy while also keeping our children apprised of the situation. This is a delicate balance. But it is one we can manage, and I feel grateful that we have the ability to do this, and the will to do it (as long as it is TEMPORARY)!
I have also been doing all of my therapy online, via telehealth, which has its own challenges of invasion of privacy, as I can now see inside my clients’ houses and lives in a way I couldn’t before; internet connectivity; figuring out where to look and how to manage the background noise of my own home, kids, and dog. But again, we can do this, and I have felt glad and grateful that this technology exists at a time when we suddenly and completely needed it. My clients have adapted and seen that it can be helpful to have a time and a place that they know they can talk with someone about their fears and struggles – and they ALL have them. We are all, every one of us, having fears and struggles with this. It is my hope, as I’ve worked on with all of my clients, that we can all also feel the gratitude and solidarity of this hard time; that we can recognize that we are doing this for each other. That is what will keep us going.
In that vein, I hosted a short Mindful Meditation 101 virtual class on Monday night that is now available as a recording. I think that it was helpful in creating a sense of calm and peace in these times where we are so desperately searching for them. I hope that the class will be helpful to you all, too, as you look for that sense of calm and peace, that you realize you can create them yourselves, right there in your own home.
Stay home and stay well,
