Hope and Well-Being

You do not have to be good.

“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.” Mary Oliver

Like everyone, I am experiencing higher levels of stress and exhaustion during the Covid pandemic. We see it everywhere — in our relationships, how we move about in the world (or not), what is (or is not) on the grocery shelves, in our work and in what gives meaning in our lives. We definitely feel it in the soft animal of our body.

On my drive to town today, I chose an On Being podcast The Future of Well-Being, featuring neuroscientist Richie Davidson and the Surgeon General of the US, Vivek Murthy. It was a great antidote to Covid fatigue. There are so many people in this world doing amazing work and contributing to our well-being. This is a good thing to remember.

“Do I really want to go back to 2019? This pandemic has given people a moment to rethink a lot of things in their lives. Now, everyone has experienced this pandemic differently, but the vast majority of us have experienced it deeply. For some people it’s been about their work and questions of do I find real purpose in what I’m doing? And for other people it’s about their family and where they live.” Vivek Murthy