Dr. Emily Landon at the Illinois Governor's COVID-19 Press Conference:
Peak Prosperity - The coronavirus marks the end of the long era of growth and the new era
of deglobalisation, supply disruption, international balkanisation and
state interventionism. We are now entering that era.
If
possible try and (re)establish existing routines - for example - I do
yoga in the morning, then meditate then exercise. Lunch and dinner same
time. Keep drugs/alcohol to a minimum until you are more stable. Be
willing to just sit and cry once in a while. It’s ok. Not all day. Not
everyday. Take a deep breath (or 2 or 5) and then get up and move. Rinse
and repeat.
Be gentle with yourself - you are defining a new being-ness
- a new normal. Most of us hate to have our cheese moved. It’s jarring
and unfair and anger and resentment and sadness and fear are normal.
Breathe, acknowledge the feelings, tell your mind “thanks for sharing”
and don’t believe the lies it tells you - anything about the future is a
lie by definition. And if it’s about others and you have not verified
it yourself, then that is a lie as well. Also, mind works in absolutes -
“it will always be like this or never be like that”. All absolutes are
lies as well. Your conditioned mind is tricking you.
Move on and don’t stay stuck. Try new things.
Keep
the news to a minimum. I had a meltdown over the weekend and my wife
put me on news rationing - I was allowed to look briefly 3 times a day.
Monday and Tuesday I had difficulty focusing and concentrating with
work. That seems to have passed. But I am still not on the news as much.
Sitting
and puddling will not help. Your mind may tell you that if you start
crying you’ll never stop. Highly unlikely! Most I’ve seen someone go is
about 20 minutes. It will stop.
Try
helping others. Reach out. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. I find myself
deeply moved, and emotionally empathetic with all of humanity and our
predicament at times. Very surprising about myself. Watching the virus
infection growth graph animate in real time - basically watching fast
growing exponential curves - is tough.
Watch
this: The real heroes are the medical ppl on the front lines AND the
infrastructure and service folks who remain at their stations. Amazing
how we all pull together when it gets tough. Just sit and appreciate and
meditate on THAT.
Maybe
try this viewpoint: Perhaps Life is getting us to correct our
maladaptive behaviors and giving us a window to do so. If this had been
like ebola or black plague - different discussion (and even then, just a
more severe correction).
Maybe
it’s kinda like A Christmas Carol - we’re being given a chance to
change our behavior. Ask what *you* will now choose to do differently. A
very good question, for all of us, actually. Maybe this is an
opportunity. Maybe Life loves all of us so much it will do whatever it
takes to get us to correct our behavior and live in alignment with what
really works for the species as a whole. I look at it this way: Humans
are getting “spanked.” That’s a Metaphor not literal truth (i don’’t
think).
Or it’s
just basic math and physics: We created this (in part) by clearing wild
forests and moving into new and foreign animal territories we previously
had never encountered - this was going to happen. There were lots of
warning no matter what the elected leaders say. We - as a whole -simply
chose not to listen. And it will continue to happen. Next time we listen
better and don’t get spanked as hard.
