March 21 – Incremental Change

Most of the time, change happens in small steps. It is only when we look back at history that we see the accumulation of changes that led to our current world. For most of us, we prefer our change in small,  pieces, that are a easier to digest as we live our lives. Or predictable change, like the shift of winter to spring which happens every year. The snow will eventually melt, the flowers will eventually grow and the temperatures will warm as the seasons change. It is annoying when another winter storm occurs but but we know that winter won’t last forever. When large change happens, like the pandemic of 2020, it catches so many people off guard as they struggle to cope with a new reality. This shift in our lives was more than we expected and it overwhelmed many people as we learned how to live in a different world.

In March of 2020 change happened quickly and in a large way. Our world had seemed stable, and secure, immune from the plagues of the past until COVD-19 started spreading. Within the space of a few days, people were required to stay home, businesses had to  setup new technology and learn how to work remotely and only the people physically required at their jobs were allowed to travel about. There was uncertainty about our safety and our supplies. With the isolation, the lack of support, not everyone was able to adjust to the new situation.

Many people worked to help the people around them, by making masks, checking on neighbors, and staying at home to prevent the spread of the virus. Others struggled with all of the change, unable to cope and getting lost as the world struggled to shift. Still others chose to act like nothing important had changed in their life. There was a craving for a return to the old culture, the freedom to move around and not take precautions against an air borne virus. This large a change, all at once, was more than these people were able to accept. There was a denial of the reality of the situation, until these people were affected in their lives.  

After two years of a shift in our routines, including limited activities, and staying at home more, the world is opening up, again. People are starting to go shopping instead of shopping on-line, go to concerts and cruises, fly to faraway places and move outside of the closed world of COVID. Not everyone feels safe in venturing out but many people are ready for a change from the quarantine of the last two years. A world wide change brought us to this point. We are moving forward in life by making small changes and gradually building up a life that accomodates the new reality we all live in.

People envisioned a sudden large shift and the world opening up in the same way it had closed down, returning to life as it was before COVID in the space of a few days. The reality has been many small changes over time and permanent changes in our lives. Little by little, we find or make the change we need to find our way to recovering and healing from the last two years. May we all find our healing and the people who support us as we change bit by bit.

Pictures by J.T. Harpster. Prints of his photos can be purchased at Redbubble

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