Recently, I had one of those last straw moments in which I finally had to vent about something. In this particular case, it was regarding the hesitation or refusal surrounding the Covid-19 vaccines. For the record and to be fully transparent, I’m not only vaccinated, but I’ve also been a test subject in the Moderna clinical trial since last August.
Turning to social media, the bane of humanity, I wrote a post about how I truly felt in that moment regarding the claims and justifications of the unvaccinated. I won’t go into the satirical, blunt, and deep-cutting details of that post but it was, suffice it to say, scathing. It had a lifespan of 7 minutes before I took it down in which I don’t believe anyone had time to see it.
What I wanted was to vent. I wanted to take a sledgehammer to my emotional pressure gauge and let the steam roast anyone foolish enough to be in my sight. I wanted people to know that while I was desperately and earnestly trying to be patient, empathetic, and respectful, there was an innate core to me screaming at the top of my lungs clawing to beat them into submission. I wanted them to know how incredibly hard it was for me to hold a safe and open space for them. It wasn’t natural and I didn’t want it to be taken for granted anymore.
However, what I really wanted was for this pandemic to end and for my family and everyone else to be safe. The only way for this to happen is for Covid-19, along with all of its mutating variants, to have no one left to infect without antibodies. And the best chance humanity has, at this moment, of succeeding is vaccination. So, what I ended up doing was posting to social media my experience as a clinical trial subject and vaccine recipient, followed by an invitation for those still unvaccinated to simply reach out to a friend or family member who has received the vaccine and ask about their experience. I’m sure they all are doing what they believe is best and safest for their families – as am I – but part of that involves inquiry. So, talk to someone you trust in your life whose been vaccinated and inquire.
It wasn’t easy to let go of my passion, fear, anxiety, frustration, and anger, but what I wanted wasn’t what I really wanted. There is absolutely value in venting. However, not as a means to an end. I recognized that I would be stepping on my own feet if I expressed myself the way I originally intended. And the way I ended up expressing myself was no less genuine or real, but it was also so much more aligned with who I was and what I really wanted.
So, in addition to inviting any unvaccinated listeners or readers to speak with a trusted person in their life about their vaccination experience, I invite everyone to pause every now and then – especially when they feel hijacked by their impulses – and consider what you really want. This will help you to tap into the gift of the situation, your core values, and behave in a way that will lead to a more fulfilling outcome. Whether it’s regarding the pandemic or our own personal battle between what we want and what we really want, we’re all in the same boat; let’s just not make it the Titanic.
Turning to social media, the bane of humanity, I wrote a post about how I truly felt in that moment regarding the claims and justifications of the unvaccinated. I won’t go into the satirical, blunt, and deep-cutting details of that post but it was, suffice it to say, scathing. It had a lifespan of 7 minutes before I took it down in which I don’t believe anyone had time to see it.
What I wanted was to vent. I wanted to take a sledgehammer to my emotional pressure gauge and let the steam roast anyone foolish enough to be in my sight. I wanted people to know that while I was desperately and earnestly trying to be patient, empathetic, and respectful, there was an innate core to me screaming at the top of my lungs clawing to beat them into submission. I wanted them to know how incredibly hard it was for me to hold a safe and open space for them. It wasn’t natural and I didn’t want it to be taken for granted anymore.
However, what I really wanted was for this pandemic to end and for my family and everyone else to be safe. The only way for this to happen is for Covid-19, along with all of its mutating variants, to have no one left to infect without antibodies. And the best chance humanity has, at this moment, of succeeding is vaccination. So, what I ended up doing was posting to social media my experience as a clinical trial subject and vaccine recipient, followed by an invitation for those still unvaccinated to simply reach out to a friend or family member who has received the vaccine and ask about their experience. I’m sure they all are doing what they believe is best and safest for their families – as am I – but part of that involves inquiry. So, talk to someone you trust in your life whose been vaccinated and inquire.
It wasn’t easy to let go of my passion, fear, anxiety, frustration, and anger, but what I wanted wasn’t what I really wanted. There is absolutely value in venting. However, not as a means to an end. I recognized that I would be stepping on my own feet if I expressed myself the way I originally intended. And the way I ended up expressing myself was no less genuine or real, but it was also so much more aligned with who I was and what I really wanted.
So, in addition to inviting any unvaccinated listeners or readers to speak with a trusted person in their life about their vaccination experience, I invite everyone to pause every now and then – especially when they feel hijacked by their impulses – and consider what you really want. This will help you to tap into the gift of the situation, your core values, and behave in a way that will lead to a more fulfilling outcome. Whether it’s regarding the pandemic or our own personal battle between what we want and what we really want, we’re all in the same boat; let’s just not make it the Titanic.