one of the terms i’ve been hearing a lot lately is new normal. it describes how things may never be like what it once was, or that at least the status quo has been disrupted. it is often delivered in an apocalyptic tone, as if it automatically applies only to a darkening of days – a blockage of only the good and the entrance of only the bad.
there’s no denying that we are living in trying times, that the net outcome of a global pandemic is loss. but ruminating on things at home has also ushered in new norms that i hope, when all of this is over, i take with me back into the world.
to keep my spirits up, i’ve found it helpful to list these: writing everyday / texting and calling family more often / reconnecting with distant friends / more consistent sleeping patterns / creating less garbage / consuming food more healthfully and with less waste / a decreasing sense of work-related burnout
these (re)new(ed) norms are habits that i’ve aspired for or lost along the way, and they’ve helped me look forward to each day under shelter as an opportunity as opposed to a sentence. i’m recognizing that being “grounded” can either have a positive or negative connotation, even if the motions of the dual meaning are similar. i’m also recognizing that they are modes of coping that have emerged without much effort on my part, and maybe they’ve always been elements integral to my life that i just hadn’t prioritized enough to cultivate. when these truly become normal, i’m excited to start inviting more truly new norms proactively. what is all the low-hanging fruit that i’ve never even looked up to notice are within reach?
and then once things in the world finally go “back to normal,” will it be a complete triumph? will i go back to tending to my inbox instead of tending to my family? will i eat more junk and junk more of what i eat? will go about life as if resources and energy are less precious?
and what about us? will we fill the streets with cars and the skies with planes all the same? will we stop caring for the elderly and under-heralded? will we be less resilient about maintaining social connections and settle for relationships of convenience? will we be less mindful about every step and every breath? will we treat our health as if it’s only our own? the jaded parts of me say that we will. the fact that we have so much more to learn from this experience might be the only silver lining to the fact that we are only in the beginning.