Stumbling Through This Messy Time Together

By Hilleary Reinhardt

Does anyone else feel like the last few weeks have been the toughest weeks of the past 6 months? I definitely feel that way. We are in the middle of some really difficult times and I am unmotivated, can’t seem to get into a routine, my brain is at capacity, I feel as if I have nothing to look forward to, and most days I am just trying to make it through each minute of each day. With the combination of the coronavirus pandemic on our day to day lives and the systemic racism against Black people in the United States, things just don’t feel great.

If some of this sounds true for you, you are not alone. Many people report having similar occurrences and emotions–most likely because of the seemingly never-ending timeline of the coronavirus and systemic racism for BIPOC living in the United States. In fact social worker, researcher, and professor, Brene Brown, has a term for this point in time. She calls it “Day Two, it’s the messy middle and the point of no return”. In a recent podcast released by Brene, she dives into this idea of “Day Two” and how while this time can be extremely painful, raw, and foggy, it can also be a time where growth and learning occur most of the time with the support of your community. 

Brene and I want you to know that it is okay to be in this place of the sucky, deep, vulnerable agony where you may be facing challenges and strong emotions. It is actually healthy and it is time we start normalizing these feelings and the effects they have on our overall mental health. It is also time to start stumbling through this messy time together and not taking on these major worldly trauma’s on our own. I am here, Chrysalis is here, your chosen families are here, and your pets are here to walk through and learn with you in this messy time.