What will we take to the other side of this?
We’ve all lost something since COVID-19 crossed our shores.
A loved one.
Income.
A routine.
School.
A sense of certainty.
With no end in sight, it may feel odd to ask — What do we want to take to the other side of this? But that’s exactly what the writer, Christy Stillwell, has been asking her family every night at dinner:
So what to take? Whatever makes me the best version of myself. A sense of humor? Yes. My prose voice, myself on the page, that is, the writer in me? Yes, I think so. Gratitude‚ definitely. My deep love and appreciation of the absurd and ridiculous. Grief and loss? I’d rather not but they are part of the deal. Maybe can we leave behind shame, self disgust, crushing self doubt, all derision and judgment? Yes. Leave them in the fridge with the molding bread.
My colleague, Rachel, and I got to talking about this question.
What would our friends and family say? Would would folks in our broader community — people we admire and care about, but whom we speak to far less frequently — have gained from this experience and not want to lose? And if we shared these conversations publicly, could we offer some measure of comfort in our shared vulnerability?
So, we decided to write a newsletter offering these stories. Every week, we’ll share with you interviews with people we admire, asking them to peer through the pain, despair and longing, and tell us what they want to take with them…to the other side.
I hope, together, we can make this experience we’re all going through a little bit easier.
Thanks for reading,
Erin
"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." -- Rumi
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