Right now, whatever you are doing is more than enough

As I write this post, I’m cuddled up under layers of blankets, enjoying a few minutes of heat coming from the furnace. Texas, like many other areas around the world, was hit by an intense winter storm that pushed our aging electric grid past capacity.

So I am flowing with rolling blackouts. About every three hours, the electric comes back on and the heater warms my apartment. Then suddenly, it’s gone again.

It’s a powerful metaphor for the events of the past 12 months. Just when we think we might reach stability, the rug gets pulled out again. The COVID pandemic, ongoing danger to the lives of BIPOC and LGBTQ, political battles, job layoffs, parents homeschooling, and now Mother Nature flexing her muscles — can we really take much more?

We are experiencing mass PTSD, with no foreseeable end in sight. Many people are just barely keeping their heads above water, mentally, emotionally, physically and financially. I’ve been in that place a time or two.

We live in a culture that’s valued productivity, achievement, ambition and money over everything else. I’m all for those things in healthy doses, but to still see media messages pushing us to do more?

Shaming us if we aren’t?