I'm an opticist. Yes, that's a combination of optimism and skepticism. Hopeful, yet grounded in a healthy dose of historical reality and the current landscape. Right now the sky in Northern California is orange from the fires. We're six months into the pandemic. And we are going into the most important election in our lifetime in eight weeks. We are at a crossroads this fall, for the pandemic and for our democracy.
We've also arrived at a point in the pandemic where we've settled into this new way of living. And I wonder, for each of us, what lessons and rituals from this different time are we going to bring with us to help us move forward?
I wanted to share with you the essay I wrote for Psychology Today:
Surfing Lessons for a Pandemic
As a native Californian, it only took a pandemic to make me finally learn how to surf with my family. During a period when we’re all riding unpredictable waves, seeking any way to release all the stress of the pandemic, the election, and everything else, learning to navigate choppy waters seemed like a good idea.
It was. While Covid is a colossal reminder that nature is more powerful than you, surfing shows us how to live in the ebb and flow of this new way of life. You learn to cope with relentless crashing waves, lots of failure, and short,sweet moments of being in sync with something as powerful as the Pacific Ocean’s 707.5 million cubic km of water.
