I read something today that really stuck with me though. It was about the pandemic, and how the writer had to experience all the stages of grief.
What an interesting concept. My family has been processing grief since the loss of our mom/wife/grandma, for one year now. We have worked through so many of the stages, probably multiple times as most people do.
Anger, sadness, depression, denial, etc... We did it when my hubs lost his dad a few years ago. Truthfully, my hubs spent a lot of time in the guilt & anger stages. I've been busy with our little one, so I have probably spent more time just too busy & tired to think about grieving or being sad over my mom. It hits sometimes though.
So this idea of grieving over 2020 instantly resonated with me. Think about everything we have "lost" (quoted only because some have been temporary losses).
All of a sudden we couldn't go anywhere. We couldn't see anyone. Our sense of complacency, safety, security, employment, whatever, was gone. It seemed like it happened over night.
People are grumpy, angry, depressed, guilty, exhausted, and every other thing they could possibly be. As if they were moving through the stages of grief. As out mental health collectively deteriorates, so does our behavior. Suddenly positive interaction is something we literally have to fight to have. And who has energy for that?
Maybe, just maybe, if we could take a breathe, grieve what is gone, and walk through the grief, we could get to the other side.
We have all lost someone at sometime, so we should have empathy for this grieving process. The truth is, for those of us grieving a loved one, 2020 hasn't helped a whole lot. We don't really want to lose anyone else just yet, whether from a dumb virus, or a dumb comment, or a dumb action.
