QUARANTINE LIFE: TUESDAY THOUGHTS

Money is not unimportant, but we undervalue other costs.

In this climate, risk tolerance is sorely needed.

I'm really trying to exercise not being anxious, but I admit, it does take effort. I'm commanded not to be anxious. No amount of worrying about anything will change the outcome. A thing is going to be on your mind until it isn't.

The things we're accustomed to have changed dramatically. Not everyone has the opportunity to quarantine and wait this thing out. Everyone can't shift gears to pursue another job or talent.  When a person's income is attached to their accessibility, sober choices have to be made about safety, comfort, and efficiency. There's a lot of reinvention going on.

When your work requires you to use your respiratory system, you have choices to make. Work requires input, supervision, collaboration, trust, strategy, innovation, and time. Some people are plowing ahead as if there's no pandemic at all. Some are exercising discretion; some are traumatized by the work because others aren't exercising wisdom or common sense, being forthcoming about their activities, taking the severity of this time into account, or accepting responsibility for their actions. Still others are rejecting work altogether.

For a singer or speaker to show up, stand at a microphone and repeatedly inhale and exhale mask-less in an enclosed space, requires more thought and risk than it used to. Whether you're in the worry-free zone or not is your choice. You don't have to be there. I think of the scores of people who were okay with taking the risk of going there. Many are not here anymore.

You're not going to be able to do anything except say, "I'm sorry" if someone falls ill or dies as a result of doing what they felt pressured or obligated to do.

This thing is not a competition. It is not a faith test. There's nothing to prove to anyone. You have to do what's best for you. I imagine that some people are adopting that plan of action for the first time and loving it. If anything, this time has prompted people to prioritize and put their own needs at the top of the list for a change.

The guilt, shame, fear, bullying, gaslighting, and manipulation engaged in these days is real. Saying "No" and not caring about what people think or say because you won't oblige them or their agenda, is probably easier than ever.