3/31 Covid-19 Update: "Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation"
coronavirus19.substack.com
I've been thinking for the last several days about this twitter thread I saw where a woman who lives in NYC helpfully tried to explain what she learned navigating the healthcare system as a caretaker for her boyfriend who was very sick from covid. It was advice on how not to clog hospitals, what medicines made him feel better, why it's important to keep a log of symptoms, and when they knew it was time to seek urgent assistance. And the first response to her post was from a person who said, "I resent this take, What about those without caretakers/living alone?" Essentially shaming this woman for her own personal experience (and desire to share information that might be useful to someone else). If our first reaction to someone's fear and sickness and hardship is resentment - to ask them to always and forever admit before any expression of personal frustration or sadness or worry that there's someone else out there who has it worse - then I think we're kind of doomed. There's not a lot of space for humanity or love in resentment like that.
3/31 Covid-19 Update: "Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation"
3/31 Covid-19 Update: "Put down the weight of…
3/31 Covid-19 Update: "Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation"
I've been thinking for the last several days about this twitter thread I saw where a woman who lives in NYC helpfully tried to explain what she learned navigating the healthcare system as a caretaker for her boyfriend who was very sick from covid. It was advice on how not to clog hospitals, what medicines made him feel better, why it's important to keep a log of symptoms, and when they knew it was time to seek urgent assistance. And the first response to her post was from a person who said, "I resent this take, What about those without caretakers/living alone?" Essentially shaming this woman for her own personal experience (and desire to share information that might be useful to someone else). If our first reaction to someone's fear and sickness and hardship is resentment - to ask them to always and forever admit before any expression of personal frustration or sadness or worry that there's someone else out there who has it worse - then I think we're kind of doomed. There's not a lot of space for humanity or love in resentment like that.