As a longtime non-profit leader in NYC, a city at the forefront of the initial pandemic and still very much suffering from health, economic, and safety aftereffects, I answer that question quite differently. First, I thank the frontline workers who early on put their lives in jeopardy and worked tirelessly day after day for our health, our transportation, our food, and our security– they worked on behalf of us all.
As to what I have learned, we RISE.
1) Resilience: I witnessed the resilience and survival of young people and their families combatting what truly was a perfect storm of uncertainty and insecurities around education, health, food, housing, finance, safety, and equity. And, I saw my team and community members stretch their flexibility muscles to think about ways to do even more for others.
COVID tested our strength; we rose.
2) Introspection: I witnessed friends and family take time to contemplate: what do I want from life and what’s important. Working from home afforded many of us the ability to slow down our lives and think about how we want to spend our time, whom we want to spend it with, and where we wanted to live. We gained the perspective that we are a global community with the entire world going through this health crisis together– a first for most of our lifetimes.
COVID changed our thinking; we looked inward.
3) Self-care: I witnessed gratitude. Many of our simple joys disappeared: Simple hugs and handshakes. In-person get-togethers. Theater and dance on stage. The gym. A plane ride. Fresh air.– all things we previously took for granted went missing. Instead, we recognized the need for human connection, culture, and self-care as ways to feed our souls.
COVID shifted our needs; we simplified.
4) Empathy: I witnessed humanity. Clanging of the pots out windows at 7 pm thanking frontline workers. Neighbors were checking in on each other. Friends were taking care of aging parents. Frustrations and protests growing for equity with #BLM. Most of us felt something for ourselves and for others– we realized we were connected.
COVID expanded our ability to feel; we cared about each other.
My sincere hope, as we move beyond COVID and rebuild our lives back to a semblance of “normal”, is that we remember our year of learning and maintain our ability to RISE together.
(And, I don’t know about you, I don’t need more “sleep,” I want to live, I want to travel, and I want to hug, more –that’s also what I’ve learned.)
