Two months of quarantine was both easier and harder than I thought it would be. I mean, if I’m being totally honest, the worst part of it was the unknown. How long would we be shut down completely? How long would my familiar routines cease to exist without my choosing?
That was the worst part.
But, as an introvert, I discovered some new things about myself, including I do need people and zoom meetups are actually more exhausting than actual in-person hangouts. However, it does matter who those social zoom meetups are with. While the novelty was fun at first, I tired of them quickly.
The most telling moment in all of this was when I wrote to my coworker, “Man, I miss seeing people gathering together.” and he replied, “Spoken like a true introvert.”
I laughed then.
He was right. In that unguarded moment, I wasn’t voicing my desire to hang out in big groups again, but I was saying that I missed seeing people attending concerts, tailgating, and gathering for whatever they wanted. I love it when people do what they love to do, even if it’s not something that I enjoy. I like people, really I do, but you all stay over there, and I’ll stay right here.
A week later, a few friends in my building and I got together (though we live in separate apartments, for all intents and purposes, we basically live together). We were a small group. Five to be exact. And, I found myself in the kitchen, waiting for water to boil for my cup of tea. My addiction to tea is well-known so that wasn’t out of the ordinary. But, generally, I’d leave the pot on the stove and head out to be with my people. This time, I didn’t.
When I checked myself, I realized that I was feeling peopled out. PEOPLED OUT?!
Yes, a total of five people including me, and I had tapped out faster than ever before. Yes, I’m an introvert, but I’m a friendly introvert, and these were all my people.
So, I guess, what I’m trying to point out here as we move from two months of “shelter-in-place” orders to being allowed to be out and about with larger groups of people is that it’s okay to realize that your energy levels and tolerance of groups of people have changed. As you were gentle with yourself and all the stupid, crazy changes that were forced upon you at the beginning of this, be gentle with yourself as we merge into our new normal.
This looks different for everyone.
The quarantine offered us all the weirdest pauses of our lives. No one expected a pause like this, and we can’t be sure that we won’t return to that type of pause again. What have you learned about yourself during this pause? What do you want to change? Or is there nothing to change?
Maybe this isn’t the time to RUSH into the new normal (not that we truly can). But, as you take steps into this new normal, how can you honor yourself and the dreams that you have for the future? How can you orient your life to gradually accomplish your new or old goals?
With every page, Untamed asks the question: what would it be like to trust yourself? Glennon Doyle unfurls her life lessons across the pages of this book with honesty and feeling, both encouraging and challenging readers to explore the discomfort, triggers, and addictions in their own lives. Her book back cover copy says it so well, “Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living.”
