It’s only a battle, if you choose to fight.
As the weeks in Iso have passed I am sure I am not alone in having run the full gamut of human emotions.
At first I was all about going with the flow, thinking outside of the box, which served me and my community well. Yet somewhere over the last couple weeks I have found myself increasingly frustrated.
I’ve been increasingly disheartened, fighting my own better judgement, being unnecessarily harsh and judgemental toward myself and others.
The truth is none of us know what battles others are facing unless they divulge this information to us.It’s easy for me to be empathetic to my clients struggling to make sense of things, with increased stress and pressure because their work has become more demanding, or because it has become less so and they worry about how they will survive.
It’s easy because they tell me, so I can better support them.It’s not so easy for me to be empathetic to the people invading my 1.5m state-sanctioned personal space when I go to buy essential supplies or to not get angry at the increasing number of people driving unnecessarily aggressively, Melbourne’s notoriously unfriendly roads are worse than ever.
So then I find I have to check myself.
Maybe they’re just like me. I’m not always as forthcoming as I would like to be, I’m prone to acting out occasionally too.
Maybe they’re just trying to do their best in an unprecedented situation, having more moments of fear, loneliness, anxiety, depression, anger and uncertainty than ever.
Maybe every interaction, or lack of, they have had that day has culminated in that angry response, that mindless moment, that apparent lack of consideration for others. I am not above any of that, so I sure as hell shouldn’t just assume people are assholes for it.
Going into the new week my goal is to stop the fighting. Retreat from the battle I have been waging, to get back to where I was, in that flow state.
Here’s to a new week, devoid of judgement, filled with openness to endless opportunities and limitless kindness, to myself and others! If you’re feeling any of the above, get out of your own way and give it a go.
