Thoughts on Navigating (Pandemic) Ambiguity
April 28, 2020
If you are wondering
how you are going to navigate in these uncertain times, you are not alone. Suffice to say, it seems we are moving towards an unknown direction and so much of the bigger picture is out of our control. Will the virus come and go? Will it be 18 months or 36 months until a vaccine? How will this affect our elections and democracy? How will school, work, unemployment and daily life function moving forward?
We don’t know what we don’t know. For this reason, at the heart of the matter really is our ability to adapt and navigate ambiguity, until we do know. Luckily that is a skill set we can develop and practice, like flexing a mental and emotional muscle.
So how do we navigate ambiguity? Here are four contemplations (Fear, Grief, Honoring Cycles, and Adaptability) that may help to better define the journey into the unknown and offer a helpful way to approach it.
Fear
Let’s not sugar coat it. Over 1 million people in the US alone have contracted COVID, over 80 thousand have passed away, and about 33 million Americans have successfully applied for unemployment. To make it worse, we know these stats are undercounted. This is not sensationalism, these numbers are facts. But I share this to say: Given the circumstances, Yes, it is okay to and completely natural to feel overwhelmed. In fact, it is okay to feel whatever you are currently feeling, even if it is 180 degrees from what you were feeling yesterday. The truth is, we are concerned about our health and the health of the people we love. We are worried about our livelihood and our economy.
Fear gets to play an important role in all of this. It often reveals to us our expectations and our attachments to certain outcomes. The pain we experience through fear of the unknown is caused in many cases by resistance. Resisting the idea of not being in control, resistance to change, and resisting the grief (however subtle) of losing the comfort of certainty we were used to.
For your journal: What does your fear reveal to you?
“No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.”
- C.S.Lewis
2. Grief
Grief is simply about processing loss. It feels like we have lost recently, hasn’t it? We’ve lost loved ones (I just lost my great-aunt to COVID). We’ve lost our physical connection with other human beings (I am a hugger), we’ve lost our sense of community through gatherings, we’ve lost our physical freedom to move about the world, across the country or outside of our homes, we’ve lost our sense of security, our daily routines, and sense of comfort, even if the comfort came from picking up a cup of coffee from the same place every day on the way to work. Depending on our circumstances, some of us may be grieving the loss of privacy, personal space, the company of a partner, friends, or the way we approached our work.
Not to go down into a rabbit hole, but to make the point, in this upheaval, grief may manifest itself in a number of ways. It can come as unexplained agitation, impatience, depression, or as a devastating loss of life. There is so much to process, but by far, beware and hold space for your grieving however subtle or profound it comes. Now, more than ever feels like the time to process grief so we can make way for hope.
For your journal: How is grief showing up in your life right now?
3. Honoring cycles
By allowing ourselves to grief what is no longer, we can then truly step into what is newly emerging for us, even if these new possibilities have not revealed themselves yet. and what new possibilities for us have revealed themselves that hadn’t been revealed yet. Growing up I used to hear the saying “When God closes a door He opens up a window.” I think this speaks to the eloquence of cycles; endings and beginnings and the transformation that takes place in the process. This is evident, for example how a restaurant in Amsterdam, built small quarantine greenhouse structures for outdoor dining, to ensure social distancing and safe practices. in the small greenhouse structures erected in Greenland for restaurant customers. And yet, we haven’t fully stepped into a true recovery, so we just don’t know how life will have adapted and will be reconfigured, possibly reimagined in the future. But honoring cycles,
For your journal: In what ways are you honoring what is ending and what might be emerging for you and your life?
4. Adaptability.
What is a Pivot? A pivot is simply a change in direction, Usually an informed decision based on new circumstances, facts, or ideas. It is the ability to change rapidly from doing things one way to doing them in a completely different way or moving towards a very different goal and direction altogether. It requires openness to make informed decisions, and a willingness to accept whatever truth the facts of the circumstance provide.
In 2014 I stepped into a cohort of 9 designers, scholars and nonprofit leaders, who would learn design strategy, and quickly apply the insights in very tangible ways in the communities around us. In short, it was a 7 month master class in navigating the emotional rollercoaster of ambiguity. But the principles of approaching the design process, in many ways, feels like the principles of approaching life when direction and outcomes become murky at best and completely unknown at worst.
Keeping an open “I don't know mind” when things are ambiguous is key. Releasing our attachment to ideas or outcomes is imperative, and being willing to embrace the truth as it reveals itself (about a product, process or even ourselves) is almost inevitable and finally, being able to pivot can determine the viability of any initial idea, that I am sure was envision to serve a greater purpose, even if it might be in a totally new way of doing it.
On the subject of Pivot, here is one of my favorite podcasts on the subject: The Pivot podcast with Jenny Blake.
In my personal experience,
whether it is an unexpected new beginning, and informed pivot, when one pathway comes to an end, another pathway always appears. Trusting the unfolding process takes patience and faith in the unseen, in circumstances and in right timing.
At the end of the day, after all is said and done. It is about striving for, connecting to, and maintaining hope and inspiration. In the midst of uncertainty, hope and kindness and compassion will be the bridge that delivers us to the clarity and resolve we seek.. We are both spectators and shapers of what comes next for us all. Find your light. Spread it. We are our own medicine. Together.
Thank you for taking this journey with me,
From my heart center to yours,
NOEMI
