Bear's Blog

Welcome Spring Equinox! As Carly Simon sang, “Anticipation… is keeping me wa-aa-aa-iting…” We can now envision returning to socializing, travel and attending events in the near future. So we are planning! Hopeful! Oh, the places we’ll go… even if it’s just the coffee shop, gym or museum. It’s within our grasp if we just stay the course a little longer.  It will be a new normal but much will stay with us; WFH, masks in flu season, Zoom and the advantages of online technology, and - the pets we adopted!

The flurry of media coverage on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic (who knew it would last so long?) was a trip down memory lane:

• Toilet paper shortages
• Take-out/delivery (wiping down groceries?)
• Zillow real estate porn
• Baking bread
• Empty streets
• No pets left to adopt!
• Mask protests
• WFH – with personal life intertwined
• Amazon as the mother of all things
• Zoom follies
• Fauci, Fauci, Fauci
• Racial justice protests
• Liberation from “work clothes” and haircuts
• Overflowing ICU’s and nursing homes
• Home improvement projects
• Netflix et al. (your favorite shows were…)
• “Pods” or “Bubbles”
• The election, its’ aftermath, and the mother of all “protests” at the Capital
• Doing EVERYTHING online

 
I keep up with the constantly changing medical research; so much was and still is unknown. What is true scientifically depends on current knowledge. As we learn more, the Western “standard of care” changes over time. During the pandemic that rate of change was exponential, which led to confusion (but the fastest vaccine development ever seen). My newsletter became a three-month-long “Corona Care Kit” series, and I still offer free Covid sessions.

The void of (diverse) personal interactions has hit everyone hard. We all get nourishment from food, mental stimulation, our environment (the natural one) and – people! Literally, we are energized by our involvement with others, especially in a group energy field. That meant being simultaneously bored, overwhelmed, undernourished, and stressed all at the same time. The ongoing, insidious fear for our safety and that of others - especially the elderly – also took its toll.

Commonalities break down when we recognize the huge differences in how each person experienced the pandemic. Loss of a loved one, a job, a home, a business, being in a food bank line for the first time ever, and working in healthcare are just a few of those significant impacts.  I often thought about the specific pain of a single parent, with a young school-age child at home, working for minimum wage as an “essential” worker. Tough times.

Don’t let irrational exuberance take us two steps backwards. We’re so close. Continue to mask up. Get vaccinated (they all check out as good options energetically.) And yes, look forward to having some light-hearted fun!

- Bear

 
PS. After a much-needed break, I will be returning with weekly stories of healing – of land, animals, people, spirits and more! You will receive the newsletter on Thursday instead of Saturday, so enjoy these tales at your leisure.  And if there is any category you are particularly interested in, let me know at [email protected].