The uninvited guests of Coronavirus

So. Coronavirus, unbidden, has shown up at your doorstep, demanded entrance, and brought along a lot of uninvited guests.

Turns out some are pleasant enough, even welcome….  Time for creativity, or deeper family connections. Greater productivity and reflection. Nice guests, that you are happy to have.  Others, not so much, especially because you didn’t invite them in the first place.  Disrupted routines. Intense loss. Isolation, and fear. But here they remain, and after a while you may want to run and put your head under the covers, or you feel like screaming every time someone looks your way.  Too many uninvited guests.  In your space.  And you have come to realize that they are not necessarily going away any time soon.

So how do we manage the reality of such a personal and concentrated invasion??

Rule 1:  Recognize that each of these guests wants some acknowledgment. That’s not to say that you give any of them control of the house, or even control of a whole conversation. (Heck, you can keep an eye on the clock and give the belligerent ones a time limit.) But seeing them, and acknowledging them by name when they are pushing against you, helps keep the household a little calmer.  Some of your guests may need a little TLC and patience, and others may be ones with whom you want to turn on the music and dance.  Remember, this is YOUR house and also that, for now, you live in it together with these guests.  Even though you can’t just magically make them all leave, you CAN sit with the unpleasant ones, enjoy the enjoyable ones, and maybe even invite more of the pleasant variety in to help balance the household.

There may be other Rules, but mostly just work on Rule 1.  It will quiet things down to where you may be able to think a little clearer, and feel a little better.

The pandemic has introduced so many feelings and situations into our lives.  Have any of the following taken up residence for now?  Uncertainty. New challenges. Frustration. Relaxation. Anger. Anxiety. Creativity. Alone time. Existential questions. Possibility. Hopelessness. Overwhelm. New discoveries. Less energy. Boredom. Freedom. Sadness. And a plethora of others…

Look around, and notice which of these guests are part of your life for now. If one emotion is clambering for attention and you are not acknowledging it, it may go hide in the basement and create havoc in unexpected places. Give your experience voice. Honor and care for your home by seeing your guests, by naming them.  Each one is as legitimate as the other.  Each has something to share, something to remind you of, something to offer, something to clarify for you.  Be with them.

Your neighbors all have their own guests, too.

Breathe deep. Your home is a sacred place.