Sunday, April 26th, 2020
I read an article recently that referred to what we’re going through now as The Great Pause – a rare opportunity to be thrown from the hamster wheel of busyness where we’re constantly running, to be really still. A moment in time to know what our streets look like less trafficked, how our environment rebounds in the stillness, how unimportant some things in our lives may actually be.
The beginning of this Great Pause felt more like a Great Shakeup, cataclysmic in how it forced us all to change every aspect about the way we live our lives. As teachers and administrators rushed to re-engineer education to be delivered to their students homes, we became acutely aware of glaring socioeconomic disparities that our school systems are often times attempting to bridge. How can students who don’t have access to computers or internet succeed in a distance learning environment? What about the jaw-dropping 52.3% of American children in our communities – that’s 26 million children – who are eligible to receive two meals a day from their schools? How will they be fed when those may be their only meals?
Faced with a pandemic, do we take note of the number of people with little or no health insurance – people who may not seek the care they need because of the financial ruin that may await them once they recover? We hear the stories of people desperately trying to be tested when their symptoms are obvious – people who don’t feel well trying to navigate the cumbersome, exhausting hoops that is our healthcare system – isn’t there a better way?
Things changed minute-to-minute for days as we pared down our workforce to essential workers. Did it come as a surprise that our most essential functions – the workforce that really makes our world turn – include healthcare, pharmacies, grocery stores and food service, utilities, delivery services, home improvement stores, gas stations and auto repair, janitorial services… and liquor stores?
Non-essential businesses that could pivot to remote work frantically adjusted to new ways of communicating and managing teams, as technology progressed leaps and bounds in a matter of days, hours even. Perceived generational differences within the workplace suddenly melted away as the tech-native skills of millennials helped ease transitions to video meetings, virtual team collaboration and in-office communication so that some work could continue.
Businesses that rely heavily on social interaction – restaurants, massage therapists, salons, fitness centers, yoga studios, wedding venues, photographers, musicians, real estate agents – most heavily impaired by the practice of social distancing, have worked tirelessly to find creative ways to interact with clients where they can… but many cannot. Again, we’re suddenly faced with the harsh reality that 39% of Americans are living on the edge and may not be able to scrape together $400 should they be faced with an emergency. Rising, record unemployment numbers as the state unemployment websites and telephone systems creak and crash under the incredible traffic further illustrate the point.
Mental health moves to the front of our awareness in the effects of isolation. Our worry for our vulnerable family and friends, the quickly changing patterns of our lives, the unknown road ahead. Or perhaps it’s after hours of busy signals to figure out how to pay bills or never ending news cycles with pandemic numbers that continue to rise that finally makes it all click.
One moment we’re creatively resilient and the next we’re wondering, “Is this really happening?”
But, through all of this, there is the beauty of kindness and community spirit to be found all around us:
Retired healthcare workers have rejoined the frontlines of this pandemic, doctors and nurses selflessly travel away from their own families to serve those communities with the most need. Communities cheer for these heroes – you can hear them clapping and singing from their balconies. People pull out their sewing machines and their 3D printers to begin making masks to support healthcare workers in short supply of Personal Protective Equipment. Restaurants make soup and prepare meals to insure that those who may be hungry can be fed, even if they cannot pay. Grocery store employees restock shelves over and over and over again. Folks shop for their more vulnerable neighbors, who may be at high risk. Mail carriers and delivery drivers carry more weight than ever to distribute packages to those who must remain home. Some internet service providers offer free internet services to homes with students, where there may be none due to cost. Schools loan out thousands of computers in an effort to keep children engaged in education and set up distribution systems to make meals available. Landlords, Businesses and Lenders offer deferment of rent, bills, and loan payments where they can. People walk more. We can see to the bottom of Lake Michigan and the canals in Venice, the smog has lifted enough to see the tops of the Himalayas.
We are six weeks into this Great Pause. We’re taking it one day at a time and many of us are trying not to think too far ahead, while others are making careful plans for moving forward. For now, I hope we allow this pandemic to shine a light on things – inequities that need to be addressed, systems that need to be updated, priorities that need to be changed. I hope we all take Mister Rogers’ advice of looking for the helpers – so many helpers – and be the helpers when we can.
