The past months have been a rare opportunity to again realize what is important - to take this existential crisis we globally find ourselves in and recalibrate on new ground. We are in the chapter of the novel where the protagonist is in danger, and what she does in that moment holds all of the potential and adventure. In the beautiful essay below, my friend and fellow-therapist Julie Wilson explores this place of newness, desire and discovery that is at our fingertips. I hope you read this and move close to your own “untapped potential.” - Rachel Lund, Self Space Founder & Therapist

The current pandemic has created a situation in which we are experiencing a global tragedy collectively, but alone. This is unique when compared to how, even strangers, often come together for mutual support and comfort in times of large-scale crisis.

To give my clients some sense they are not experiencing this alone, I try to reassure them that myself, those close to me, and many of my other clients are experiencing a similar response to our physical isolation- not dissimilar to the stages of grief.

In the beginning of shelter-at-home, there seemed to be a sense of “I got this!” followed by weeks of depression, anxiety and even some panic attacks that came in waves (as well as even another round of “I got this!”) as we all tried to grapple with the “new normal.”

My comfort and support comes in the form of validating my client’s experiences of loss and mastery, as well as doing this for myself. I have also begun to try and help us, collectively, as individuals in isolation, find the opportunities for profound personal growth that this situation presents.

Proust once said, “The only voyage of discovery…would not be to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes.” We are currently “thrown back on ourselves” as it were- with the loss of physical travel and limited social opportunities. We are being challenged to examine what we thought of as the foundations of our respective realities and who we are as people. “Who am I without____________?” Or, as Jung once asked, “What myth are you living?” The loss of the narrative we told ourselves made us who we are can cause intense grief and anxiety as we grapple with the loss of things that previously gave our lives meaning.

If we really examine our daily lives, they are often ruled largely by a tyranny of “shoulds” rather than authentic wishes and desires. These “shoulds” are an (often logical) response to our perception of the framework in which we operate and what is possible within it.

“I challenge all of us to find new stories and new meaning; to tap into our deeper instincts and natures to find the creativity that comes from being handed a new framework. ”

I challenge all of us to find new stories and new meaning; to tap into our deeper instincts and natures to find the creativity that comes from being handed a new framework. Or, perhaps, to identify old desires and wishes we have long covered or seemingly abandoned. (As I write this, I am thinking of all the ways my 7-year-old self would have found to bring meaning to my life in this strange new world. I think I would have seen this as an adventure rather than a lessening of circumstances.) How will my adult self respond to my new reality?

Below is a TED Talk that seems particularly timely. Artist, Phil Hansen describes a physical limitation he feared would end his art career. Instead, he ended up looking within his seemingly limited options and found they allowed him to be limitless. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Our grief is real but so is our untapped potential.

You can read more from Julie on her website at South Lake Union Therapy.

Now We Write A New Story

The current pandemic has created a situation in which we are experiencing a global tragedy collectively, but alone. This is unique when compared to how, even strangers, often come together for mutual support and comfort in times of large-scale crisis.