Pandemic State of Mind
A collaboration of art & words by Alicia Reguera & Rich Goddard.
For millennia, humans existed largely in day-to-day boredom. There was no Netflix. No social media. No TV. No radio. No lightbulb💡
Yet in the 21st century, our craving for stimulation & “stuff” makes the idea of staying home, with nothing to do, seem almost unthinkable.
Our whole lives, we’ve taken for granted freedoms & privileges which many others don’t have; the ability to leave the house, socialise, eat out, hug.
Yet once they’re taken away, they become the things we crave the most.
Whether in isolation, crisis or not, our instinct is to wish things were different, better or more. We spend our whole lives chasing the things we don’t have, rather than accepting, appreciating & enjoying what we do. A pandemic of the mind, to which we’ve all fallen victim.
For most, this won’t be the first time we’ve craved for more freedom; that we’ve felt stuck with situations or people we don’t like; or that we’ve worried about a future that hasn’t happened yet.
They’re the same instinctive feelings that’ve caused us problems our whole lives, just on a different scale. But at times like these, those emotions & feelings become intensified. The fears, anxieties, thoughts & behaviours, all rise to the surface from beneath the masks and distractions we’ve been using to avoid them.
When that intensity makes them difficult to avoid, it becomes an opportunity to observe them — to see them for what they are, understand them & deal with them in ways we’ve so often avoided, but desperately needed.
So rather than wish things were different, maybe we can use this as an opportunity; to make it our primary objective to understand, develop & train our minds. To deal with our emotions & irrational thoughts. To make it a priority to practice patience, compassion, empathy, acceptance.
In doing so, it might not only be what gets us through this…but what, collectively & individually, will transform the way we get through anything
Featured in the Monday State of Mind newsletter; the weekly briefing for dealing with our minds, emotions and mental health in society.
