By Shelly Tygielski
Shelly Tygielski, who has connected 10,000 families (and counting) to support each other during the pandemic, explains why intentional care for yourself is also needed, now more than ever.
For several weeks—or even longer, depending where you are in the world—we’ve been finding ourselves trying to gain footing and get used to our new realities, which present differently for each person. As the pandemic continues to unfold, a few universal truths are reaffirming themselves to me: First, in almost all but extreme cases, we have a choice about how we want to respond to what is happening. Second, the cliché and often-time overused metaphor of putting the oxygen mask on ourselves first so that we can help others has never been truer, whether we are on the front lines providing an essential service or finding ourselves at home. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, love and compassion are more viral than COVID-19.
We Have a Choice to Remain in Control
Two weekends ago, as the state where I live was finally waking up to the realization that preparation was in order and that we wouldn’t be spared, my husband and I made a trip to the supermarket to stock up on supplies and essentials. Now you have to understand that I live in a state that is under a threat of hurricanes almost annually at this point, and that what I saw was beyond the frenzy we experience when we are in the “cone of uncertainty” and being told to brace for impact. All around us, people were frantically loading their carts with toilet paper, jugs of bleach, and bottled water. The panic in the air was infectious; we humans are not immune to panic.
