A Better Normal
What is normal anymore? These days, life may look a whole lot different than it did two months ago. Our routines went out the window and we are in a struggle to get back on track. If you are anything like me, I’m sure you have dealt with a range of emotions you didn’t even know you could have. You are also probably tired of hearing about sticking to routines, and limiting screen time, and using your time wisely, etc. I struggle with that too because I have, in fact, not learned any new skills yet. I haven’t picked up any new hobbies. I haven’t worked out in my garage every morning. My energy has been focused on adapting and trying to find a new routine that works for me and my family. Trust me, I understand the importance of having a routine. I understand that routines create predictability. I understand that when we don’t have predictability, uncertainty creeps in with its faithful companion, anxiety. But I am also aware that there is a false sense of security from our dependence on “certainty”. We use certainty as our security blanket and take comfort in it. Like most adults, I’m just trying to survive with uncertainty. I’m trying to quickly adapt to everything that is changing around me. But what about kids?
I hear a lot of concern about kids falling behind. But what if our kids could take away a much bigger lesson from all of this? A lesson that they perhaps couldn’t have learned at the pace they were going? What if children learn how to fend for themselves and become self-sufficient? What if they learn that real value is in immaterial things, like our health, our planet, and human connection? That family is irreplaceable? What if their idea of heroes is redefined by all this? What if out of this chaos, we get a passionate generation focused on altruism? What if they go back to school buildings with a renewed sense of curiosity, eager to learn and collaborate with their peers? What if because of all the drastic changes, they choose to adapt.
This dreadful situation will certainly impact all of us. But we all have the opportunity to take this bleak situation and make the absolute best with it and I believe that children have a real opportunity to emerge from this in a better position.
I don’t want to go back to normal. Times of upheaval are always opportunities for radical change. This may be our once-in-a-lifetime chance for a revolutionary transformation of society and a better normal. It’s up to you.
“My hope is that our new normal, today, exposes what was wrong with our old normal, yesterday, and sets us up for a better normal, tomorrow.”