Being Gentle—With Ourselves & Each Other

For some, returning to pre-pandemic socializing and routines will be a welcome relief. Others of us may have a more difficult time, needing a little extra time, space, and encouragement to return to in-person interactions, especially large social events. Perhaps you feel a sense of uncertainty about returning to life as it was in The Before Times. You’re not alone.

Last month, The New Yorker featured a comic strip by Emily Flake called “Visions of the Post-Pandemic Future (Revised).” The comic features a woman who envisions hugging all of her friends once they’re vaccinated—only to worry that not only does she no longer know how to talk to people, but that she’s turned into a frog.

Here are a few ways to be gentle with yourself and with others as we relearn togetherness:

-          Be understanding about anxiety around social gatherings.

-          Don’t feel pressure to have transformed. It’s really okay if you didn’t become an incredible chef last year or take up a new hobby. You are worthy of love and friendship just as you are.

-          Start small. Meet with one or two other people and assess your comfort level.

-          Make plans you feel excited about. Don’t feel pressure to say ‘yes’ to every invitation once you’re vaccinated. Say ‘yes’ to what feeds your soul.

The last frame of Flake’s New Yorker comic strip is comforting and reminds us that we’re all going through this strange time together. Finally outside to meet another person, she encounters a frog-figure like her. “I mean,” she writes, “I have to figure everybody else got weird, too.”