How Far We have Come
#fromwhereistand
I never meant to wait so long in between posts, but here we are. I feel like we all begin with the best of intentions and are either gently, or forcefully derailed by life’s unpredictability. Despite the last year’s challenges and inconsistencies, I am thrilled to be writing again and reconnecting with our following here at The Burrow.
I want to share a thought-provoking conversation I had recently. It started with, “How are you… really?”
It is a question I was asked after connecting with a dear friend who knows me well enough to know when I am holding back. I hadn’t realized it had become instinctual to respond with a casual, “Oh you know, busy as always.” I didn’t realize that I had normalized simplifying and holding back my honest and raw emotions in response to questions of my well-being. The truth of how I feel is far more nuanced as I navigate raising my children, and running a restaurant through a pandemic. Perhaps I didn’t want to burden anyone with what I am feeling, knowing full well it has been yet another year of loss and change unparalleled to what most of us have experienced. Or perhaps I am just too tired to divulge more than a shrug and a straightforward response. So, I smile and I normalize instead.
I suppose I am sharing this in an attempt to encourage us all to take a collective deep breathe, and to encourage us all to be a little rawer when loved ones ask how we are doing. To give ourselves the option of accepting things as they are, with purpose and with pause. So, with that in mind, I ask you, “How are you... really?” You don’t have to answer me, but I do encourage you to do a quick check-in and answer honestly to yourself. Maybe there will be some relief, maybe some realizations, or maybe some rest will come of it. Whatever the case may be, I invite you to just be with yourself today.
We are here, we have made it to the end of another year. We have come all this way, and I don’t know about you, but I feel the holidays are a wonderful opportunity to rest and to soak in the magic of now. To let go of this past year, to embrace hope, and to appreciate all we have done, and how far we have come.
All my love,
Mandy Nguyen