The pandemic is not over. We can defeat its challenges together, says Elena Paraskevas-Thadani (She/Her)
Have you ever seen this battle scene in an action or fantasy movie? One army, with its soldiers and cavalry is on one side. The opposing army is on the other. The two armies charge at full speed towards each other, across a huge plain, with weapons and heavy armor, screaming battle cries. Finally they clash in the middle and fight.
This is when I say, “I can barely run around the block. How do these armies run a mile or two wearing and carrying heavy equipment, yelling, and then still have the strength to engage in a heated battle?”
It’s the power of “the surge.” In March, many tackled the pandemic new normal with a surprising surge of energy. They were running across the battle field to face the enemy. Who is the enemy in this case? And do we have the strength to defeat it after running across a battlefield?
Perhaps the enemy is pessimism, loneliness, despair, giving up and crushing ennui.
Some people are now feeling the exhaustion that comes after the surge. I like to think that the armies on both sides are ours. The enemy is in the middle. We have the enemy surrounded. And we can defeat it together.