“It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.”
Many have used Charles Dickens’ famous quote from a Tale of Two Cities in reference to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The quote captures the dichotomy of experience and perspective, which is similar to what many are experiencing now in the midst of sheltering in place.
One reason these times are the worst of times is that anxiety and depression are on the rise. Nearly everyone’s lives have been affected, shaken in ways never before experienced. The world laments.
Also, we’ve been told that a new normal will exist even after the virus is resolved. The future is unknown and uncertain. Worries and emotions soar. We’ve also been told that hope and healing are on the way. Some of it is already available to us.
It is the best of times because we have the opportunity to learn new perspectives and, therefore, to gain new experiences and improved thought patterns.
This is where counseling can help. Reframing thoughts and examining broader perspectives are some of the best gifts of therapy, which can decrease anxiety and depression and establish new foundations for a new normal.
It’s also an opportunity to perceive some positive aspects of our current hardships, and maybe even offer a lift to a sheltered in place soul…
And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and they were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, and some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently. And people healed. And in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
Kitty O’Meara
