Good evening my friends, it is late, I am tired. This will be short :).
Human flourishing. What does it take for us to flourish? Does it require that we are in a healthy relationship? Do our kids have to all be doing well for us to thrive? Do we have to have the income we want, the house we want, the vacation we want? Do we have to have the President we want to flourish?
It’s a hard question because much of it depends on where we are and our “life load.” There are some deal-breaker situations like a terminally ill family member, a relationship with abuse, or an estrangement that makes our life load a 100 out of 100 on the stress scale. For most of this, we are on the continuum with our life load. Are our kids difficult or risky? Are we budgeting or looking at foreclosure? Did we get 7 hours of sleep or 3? One of the ideas I had never thought much about before COVID- 19 was this idea of viral load. Viral load is the amount of virus in a. person’s blood, specifically the number of viral particles per milliliter of blood. When a massive viral load of anything overtakes our body, it puts us on our heels, vs. when we are exposed to a small viral load, often we can take it in and fight it without a severe consequence. I wonder if how we are responding right now is related to our “life load.”
Life load can look pretty different for each of us. It can also look different generationally. If you are 20 something, you are unlikely to be as worried about being sick as if you are in your 70’s. If you are in your early 30’s, you may not be thinking twice about medicare vs. if you are 65, healthcare is probably near the top of your list. How much of what is happening right now is related to our “level of viral life load.” If we have lost a job, lost a loved one, or had significant levels of change since Covid-19, our “life viral load” may continue to be overwhelming right now. If the changes since March have fallen in more of an “inconvenient and annoying” category, we may wonder what all the fuss is about. Suppose you personally have been impacted consistently and negatively by racism, by unacceptance related to your religion, by the way you speak, or by your job; this contributes heavily to your “life viral load.”
And so it leaves us, right smack where we are, navigating the line between protecting ourselves and understanding that our life scope is one of many.
I’m coming down to this, the unpleasantness of fear of contagion and loneliness isn’t the same for all of us. The idea of a new president or the thought of a rigged election isn’t either. Neither is racism, or sexism, fear of terrorists, religious persecution, or any number of other examples. The idea that we are all going to come to some immediate understanding here, well, it’s not just unlikely, it’s impossible.
The very best thing I can do right now is to engage in meaningful work. Meaning work does not mean, go out and make some money, though it CAN be that. Meaningful work means purpose-driven vocational work. This does not exist by snarky comments on social media, criticizing those you don’t agree with, or spending hours scrolling (I’m guessing we have all done WAY too much of that already this week- election results… refresh…. refresh… refresh). It doesn’t involve casting stones, projecting, or perching yourself as the authority figure. There is no room for cheap seat criticisms right now.
Whether we like it or not, we are purposeful human beings. We do much better in life when we have a meaningful purpose. When this is taken from us because we are ill, we lose a job, can no longer participate, or are forced to stay home, our “life viral load” increases. We don’t have the distraction, nor do we have the endorphins that we receive through meaningful work
Through vocational work comes creative thinking, problem-solving, adaptation, frustration, and joy. It allows us to feel connected and accomplished. We must engage ourselves to be ourselves. But sometimes, we must also engage ourselves not to be taken over by our evil alter ego (PRIDE).
Sometimes we do this naturally. I often stop everything and bake or cook when I feel overwhelmed by the world (I’m really jealous of the people who manage this through running; that is the much BETTER caloric win). Typically, it is the last thing I have time for, but I love to make food for others. Sometimes on Sunday, I make three meals for the week. I like to think it is because I am getting prepared for the week. But it is usually because in my head, I imagine my Kung Fu karate chop to someone’s shin, and I need someplace to put all of “that”. When I am finished and can deliver some goodies or know I can take them to work, I feel purposeful, and my mind is set free from what or who was overwhelming it. As a bonus, I have not hurt myself, which would happen if I tried to karate chop someone.
Our challenging times are not over. Our “viral life loads” are high. We need the good exhaustion and distraction of worthy vocational work. This work’s nature can be so many things, but the value of this work is immeasurable. We have SO much room in our own backyard to shape the world. Sometimes I think we feel small and we forget that we have any. When we feel purposeless, we lose our own agency and our ability to manage our “viral load” in a healthy way. We start to look for ideal circumstances or start measuring how our life isn’t what we imagined.
Our vocation is doing more than earning paychecks, getting kids where they need to go, giving your neighbor a sweet treat, providing help at your church or school, writing thank you letters, it is also in its ability for us to feel needed and worthy.
Run, or walk, or bake or write
Advice From A Friend: Find what work will best help you manage your viral load