What This Season has Revealed, Reminded, Restored for Us (Individually and Collectively)
Covid_19.
The first few weeks were frenzy. The ones after that were uncertainty, and anxious anticipation of whatever was next. As the weeks flowed, we began to cautiously adjust to the how things seemed to be going, For how long, we weren’t clear. Finally, the reality began to settle: we were going to be here for a while. And we began to accept the stillness, and the time at home, and shifts in our lifestyles, instead of panicking over them.
Stillness is where we reflect. Stillness is where growth occurs. Where clarity is granted. Where discernment is deepened. Where comfort is granted. Where restoration is experienced. “He layeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul…”
During the stillness that I finally allowed to comfort me, after the initial panic of Covid_19, here is what I learned as an individual. And here are my observations of some of the things I have witnessed were restored, reclaimed, and reframed for us as a collective.
Rest is our right. The mythically-necessary 40 hour workweek in the office, the inescapable and incessantly demanding customers at the tables in your section, the hour-long commutes to and from and to again… were all playing a trick on us. They were telling us that we had no time to rest. Not only is there time, but there is also an obligation. Covid_19 reminded many of us that rest is our right, and that the things that function in a way so as to tell us that we do not deserve torest or can not fit it in.. are lying.
Taking your time is okay. Somehow, when everyone (and not just the oppressed and working classes), has to deal with income flow shortages, health crises, lack of childcare, diminished access to consumerism… all of a sudden taking little more time to get things done is okay. Take it. And remember this lesson later, when folks are attempting to move back into the hyper-exploitative norms we had abided by before.
It’s not that we didn’t want to play; play was kept out of our reach. Now, more than in a long time, we are seeing our folks working out outdoors, playing in parks with their families, speaking to neighbors, painting, and drawing. It’s not that we didn’t want to play before. And, contrary to what the Instrgram memes suggest, it’s not that people are pressed to be outside simply because they have been told not to be. The truth us that capitalism and colonialism wouldn't let us play outside before. And thats why we are doing it now. This season, we are reclaiming play (and thus wellness) in both new and old ways. It’s beautiful.
We can grow our own foods. And we’re doing it. Once again. This is a not a new thing for us; it is a homecoming. Black and indigenous melanated people have always worked the land and fed ourselves by it. We are returning to our homes, in the garden.
Humor. Of all the people I know and have learned from during this time, I’ve been told and shown and reminded that humor is critical for survival in hard times. It is the elastic that keeps us. from breaking. It is the joy that keeps us from aching. When we make time (and space, and energy) for laughing, hard, we win regardless.
Spiritual Reclaiming. We are reclaiming so much right now. Connection to the earth. Healthy sleeping patterns. Mindfulness. Family time. Storytelling and storytime. Movie time. Game time. Calling relatives regularly. Caring for others. Praying. Watching. Praying. Growing things. Cooking things. Eating at home. Birthing at home. Healing at home. Worshipping at home. A collective Sankofa-ing is happening, and that in itself is a spiritual occurrence. This journey is a huge part of 2020, too, and needs to be a part of the story we tell when we speak about this year in the future.
Wear that shit. Whatever it is. Wear it. Even if you’re staying in. Even if it’s not a “special occasion”. Even if you’re alone. Even if outside is closed. Because feeling good is never closed. And during trying times, it may be even more important. So many of us have deepened our self-care and self-indulgence as a result of our sheltering in place. We have to hold on to that, regardless of what comes next
We are our children’s first teachers. And we are able. Whether it was hard at first or had become exhausting toward the end, you and the kids got ish done, and learned, this season. And both parents and children grew because of this unexpected mass homeschooling situation. This is proof that you always could have taught your children everything they needed to know, and fortitude to know that you can again. We have always known enough, cared enough, and been experienced enough to teach our children, as individuals and as a collective. The system has prevented us from doing so, and this is yet another channel by which our ancestral ways of knowing and being were kept out of our reach. And so teaching our children is also a reclaiming and a returning. It may not be one that we expected to experience (and certainly not under these conditions), but the assignment came to us still.
2020 has been… a spectacle. We have all seen things and felt things and learned things we hadn’t anticipated. And that takes enormous amounts of energy, resolve, intentionality, and patience. But this kind of restorative stretching is actually a blessing. This has been the kind of year that reminds you that you can never be sure of anything outside of your home, or really, outside of yourself. And yet it has also reminded us that there ain’t nothing new under the sun. There is peace in both of those truths.