We find ourselves here again, not only navigating another lockdown and the way it impacts our lives, but managing the disappointment that we have returned to this place, again, after all we did last time.
Disappointment means literally “to undo the appointment’ and most of us were ready for more, not less, appointments! Last year, many people mourned the loss of social interaction, a key component of connection and meaning in our lives. And were looking forward to a return to sociability over Christmas and into 2021. For others the losses have been deeper. Whichever way we look at the new lockdown it is challenging to not feel some sense of disappointment to be here all over again.
Expectations are key… expectations of normality have changed again! What is normal for you is personal and the loss is personal, as well as collective for friends, family and communities.
We do need to mourn those lost opportunities and give respect to our feelings of disappointment that our immediate future has changed. However large or small those impacts are, they are real to us.
But setting up a permanent home and living in the gap between expectation and reality accentuates disappointment, frustration and sadness. Spending some time with the reality of the here and now allows for adaption and creative, flexible solutions for change.
Taking the pressure off, and working out what helped last time and doing more of it can help. So can asking others for their help.
Collectively we can shift our gaze from disappointment to change, as “this too shall pass.”
Here are a few ideas for inspiration:
This Too Shall Pass by Julia Samuel
Feel better live more podcast with Julia Samuel No.123
