Unraveling fear

In the middle of a pandemic, we also have an election, protests, riots all happening simultaneously. Needless to say, there is a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds. With that uncertainty comes fear.

Fear will never go away. It is in our nature to worry about what’s coming around the corner that may be the end of everything.

This election will come and go. And after today, you can check that off our list of things we have to worry about (for at least four more years). And yet, there is always something else on the list. When we solve one fear, we replace it with two more. Always trying to get to this homeostasis of safety, where there is nothing to worry about. Except that isn’t how things work.

You can’t ever finish your check list of things we are afraid of. The best thing we can do is untangle it, one strand at a time. We don’t have to overload ourselves in the face of 2020 uncertainties, we can separate them. Look at them independently. Instead of seeing the gigantic monster, we can properly assess each of them for what they are.

Unfortunately, the world isn’t a fairy tale. As much as we want for things to work in our favor and go back to “normal”, they don’t always do. In fact, they won’t. 2020 has changed us and we can’t go back to the status quo. Knowing that we don’t have to be married to any outcome but take it for what it is, we can change the narrative of what fear looks like. Not something that we can get rid of but somehow learn to make a home with.