ARMOR DOWN

Our family bubble certainly hasn't been spared from this intense wave of COVID surge. My Dad tested positive just before my Mom went in for a radical mastectomy last month. Now myself and my husband are just coming out of a 2-week quarantine for being COVID positive as well. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we are all asymptomatic. But I can tell you , being away from our kids and the mental toll of isolation is excruciating and I would not wish it on anyone.

This pandemic has undoubtedly given us the most impactful common experience as a global community, it's the world war of our time. We all have our unique stories to tell and our own pandemic related battles we are always fighting. So it’s no surprise that turning our sights to those who need our support has become difficult to do. Not because we refuse to see, but because it's just so hard to tell sometimes who's doing well and who isn't. In our frantic effort to adapt we have armored up so heavily that others can no longer see the person inside screaming from all the weight of that armor. And we wonder why no one can hear us.

If there is anything this COVID isolation has taught me, its this ...

Honor your share of the struggle. What may seem insignificant to others may feel insurmountable to you, and that’s okay. Just because your troubles pale in comparison to someone else’s does not mean yours are not worth feeling, having or talking about. Not allowing yourself to experience your own vulnerability is not bravery, its deprivation. It does not only deprive yourself from experiencing your own humanity but also deprives others of the opportunity to connect with you on a deeper level. That connection is what we all need now more than ever and it may just be the best armor we can have covering our backs.

Whatever it is you're going through, I encourage you to find people in your life that you can safely flail , wail and fall apart with. It may be your mom, your boss, a friend at work or a stranger’s voice from a helpline. Know that however ripped apart we might be, we will always have each other to put us back whole again, strong again.

So go ahead , armor down a bit, you are safe.