Fatigue. Regret. Apathy. Hopelessness. Despair. Despondence.

Fatigue. Regret. Apathy. Hopelessness. Despair. Despondence. Are these feelings resonant with you?

(“Runaway cat” — Author’s cat, image courtesy of author)

I’m sure many or even all of these feelings may be familiar to you. Although we are being told that the pandemic is receding, we are all experiencing some level of PTSD. Many of us have compounding stressors.

For me, it is the stress of being a single mom and sole care provider, having a sense of displacement due to relocating during the pandemic, experiencing extended isolation, and the daunting nature of trying to build myself professionally along new avenues. As someone who is a “geriatric millennial” (meaning cell phones weren’t around until after I graduated college, I had to use dial-up internet via AOL for internet in high school, and people still relied on Encyclopedia Brittanica through my high school days), I am savvy enough to know how to navigate online but also am just not quite qualified or equipped with the know-how I need to successfully launch an online business by myself.

I’ve been taking to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Medium, and even LinkedIn to build my health coaching business online and accrue the followers I need to further propel the snowball effect to increase my visibility. The more follows, likes, reads, claps, and general engagement I get, the more likely my posts will be more visible on other people’s feeds. And so I am stuck on the treadmill trying to build my stamina and pass the milestones. All the while, I am only seeing a few dollars a month in all of these ventures. Meanwhile, my bills are higher than ever before due to housing inflation, needing to have a car, and from childcare and daily expenses that have just become pricier as inflation does its thing. And my investment portfolio is tanking so badly, it’s taking all of my willpower not to fixate on it and panic sell.

So I know it can’t be easy for anyone out there. We all have to count our blessings and take the time to breathe. And appreciate how far we’ve come despite knowing how far our goals may still be. The only way out is through. (I know, I know, but it’s true). And no one can do it alone. Yes, we all are responsible for our own healing, but we also need community. So, tip your delivery person and any other person who is providing a service to you. And let us keep shedding our dead skin and rebirthing ourselves, as the only way to become self-actualized is to do the work.

And let us work to help make it a world where more value is placed on meaningful work rather than productivity, where human lives are valued above the corporate matrix. Let us rise in consciousness together.

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