Friday, Nov. 6
By Katherine Schneider, for the CVPost
Do you feel like you’re running on empty?
If so, you’re not alone! A recent study said 50% of people were feeling burned out.
We’ve surged, possibly several times, to meet the changing demands of the Corona world: working, gathering, shopping, schooling, churching, etc. in new ways. We have gone beyond the “we’re in this together” phase to a polarized, “you’re nuts if you don’t do it my way” phase.
Now we’re settling in for a COVID winter. Your intrepid reporter and fellow sufferer is making a plan including some of the following components for Running on Empty with Grace and Style:
Acknowledge you’re there.
Observe yourself like a lab experiment and see what your symptoms are. Snapping at others? Poor sleep? Worrying excessively? Eating or drinking too much? Not enough energy for even “simple” tasks?
No judgment, just observation. You can’t do anything about a problem until you acknowledge it.
Reclaim some of what you’ve lost to COVID.
In the initial phases of dealing with COVID, we stepped up, figured out how to do it all the new way and got through it with humor and grit (at least some times). But the rhythms of life – weekends, holidays, routines, time alone on the drive to and from work, and basic self-care – may have fallen away.
Think about your pre-COVID life and pick one thing you really miss. Then brainstorm with yourself and/or your pod how you can get at least a piece of it back.
Nothing too ambitious! If you really miss your friends, could you commit to calling one per week? If you miss dining out and not having to cook, can you figure a way to order out or grab and go one meal a week? Whether it’s a meal from a local restaurant, the deli of a grocery store or Community Table, you don’t have to prepare it!
Recharge.
It would seem we’d have more time for leisure activities during the pandemic, but a lot of people are finding it isn’t refreshing leisure. Bingeing on Netflix may be good passive leisure, but it turns out we need active leisure, too: e.g. a hobby, learning something new, spending time in nature, enjoying beauty, etc.
Run out of ideas of what might be fun? Look through a book like Happiness is by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar that lists 500 ideas. I’ll bet at least one of those will call to you.
Savor something.
Many people report time is dragging, although they also feel too busy and zoomed out. Do something in slow motion, inefficiently, just for the joy of it. It can be eating a meal, taking a walk or petting your dog.
People who’ve survived COVID talk about being so glad to have their senses of smell and taste come back (usually). Enjoy those senses while you have them.
Even breathing can be savored and done mindfully. Breathe in to a count of four and out to a count of eight. It’s amazing how a little savoring break can reset one’s focus and it’s free!
Doing nothing can even be savored! Watch your pet waking up and wriggling or read The Lazy Dog’s Guide to Enlightenment by Beth Wilson and various co-authors; or “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” Said the Sloth by Eric Carle.
Switch focus!
Most of us are used to running our lives, being in charge and having a plan. COVID has upset all of that. We don’t know how long the disruption will last. We realize in new ways we are part of a community and need others. We may have to switch plans often.
Think about the relationships you can rest in, whether that’s with a person, an animal or a Higher Power. Cultivate them and look for chances to be that person someone else can rest with.
‘Stand by Me’
Sixty years ago, on Oct. 27, “Stand by Me” was first performed. A few lines from the song stand out:
“When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me?”
Looking for more inspiration?
Here are two COVID anthologies I’ve found uplifting: And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again: Writers from Around the World on the COVID-19 Pandemic, edited by Ilan Stavans; and Alone Together, edited by Jennifer Haupt.
And keep in mind that a Wisconsin collection of reflections will be published next year. It’s Hope is the Thing, edited by B. J. Hollars.