Prior to March 16th, 2020, I was like many other Americans and people in the world. I felt the need to be on the go, to be part of the “grind and hustle” culture. We prioritized work and would forgo rest, relaxation and at times sacrificed our families in pursuit of more. More stuff, more status, more and more of everything.
Then in a swift and unprecedented event, we were all ordered to stay home, with access to all the screen time we could ever want. Zoom and Skype calls, Facetime and Google Video Chat, Netflix, Hulu, and every streaming service was right there at the tip of our fingers and all we had to do was sit by ourselves and consume.
Quickly for me, I realized that all I had been chasing and pursuing felt empty without people to share the experience with. Zoom family meet ups were nice but paled in comparison to our family being gathered in a much to small kitchen, jockeying for space to be the first one served. All the screen time in the world, could not replace a nice walk, hearing the birds chirp, seeing the deer run and reconnecting with nature.
As we emerge from this historic time, I wish for all of us to remember the feeling of craving human connection, small talk, and the freedom to go interact as we saw fit.
It is incredibly easy to get swept right back into the routine of what we were doing. As the memory of this time fades, a lasting change in my life will be much more restricted technology time, and more freedom in my schedule for the incredible people in my life I was to busy to slow down to appreciate.
#weeklyprompt #fridayfocus