{"id":263,"date":"2020-04-13T16:15:47","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T16:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/?post_type=furman-update&p=263"},"modified":"2020-04-13T16:15:47","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T16:15:47","slug":"all-i-really-need-to-know-i-learned-during-a-pandemic-part-2","status":"publish","type":"furman-update","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/reflections\/all-i-really-need-to-know-i-learned-during-a-pandemic-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"All I Really Need to Know I Learned During a Pandemic, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I shared a few lessons that I have learned.\u00a0 In the spirit of author Robert Fulghum\u2019s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten<\/em>, I realized that our current situation has provided reminders of some basic but significant ideas about ourselves and our lives.\u00a0 In this week\u2019s post, I am glad to share the second half of my list.<\/p>\n

During this strange time of quarantines, social distancing, and precautionary living, I have learned \u2026<\/p>\n

7. That I may not need everything that I have.<\/strong> Knowing that I would be unable to have access to my office, I had to bring home the things that were essential for carrying on with school. Those things fit on the corner of my dining room table — my makeshift office.\u00a0 Do I really need everything else?\u00a0 I recognize that there are things in my office that I will need in other situations, and so I\u2019m not ready to box up everything and get rid of it.\u00a0 It has been enlightening, though, to realize that my list of essential items is shorter than I might have thought.<\/p>\n

8. That I don\u2019t need to be going somewhere else.<\/strong> Prior to our current situation, much of my day was spent going from here to there to here to there. Sometimes the travel was to a different city or state, sometimes it was across town, and sometimes it was just walking from my office to a classroom.\u00a0 I\u2019ve realized that there is something about \u201cgoing\u201d that provides a sense of accomplishment.\u00a0 Here in the house, where here aren\u2019t many places to go, that particular sense of accomplishment is missing.\u00a0 It has been good for me to realize that it is ok to be still.<\/p>\n

9. That I don\u2019t always need to be thinking ahead to the next fun event or outing. <\/strong>I have a habit of doing this. What\u2019s the next thing for me to be excited about?\u00a0 The concert next week?\u00a0 The trip next month?\u00a0 These days, I have no idea when the next \u201cbig thing\u201d is going to be.\u00a0 This has helped to remind me to appreciate and enjoy the present.<\/p>\n

10. That others have wonderful gifts to share.<\/strong> We have all seen the remarkable gifts that caregivers of all types are providing, and we are so grateful for their efforts. I have been the beneficiary of some other types of gifts as well.\u00a0 Through emails, phone calls, and social media sharing, I have been moved by beauty, inspired by creativity, and uplifted by humor.\u00a0 I love that people are sharing in ways they can share.\u00a0 What a great example of people living up to their callings!<\/p>\n

11. That trying to be perfect is exhausting.<\/strong> In shifting from regular classroom instruction to remote instruction, I have worked to create videos for my classes. My need for them to be flawless has led me to spend hours and hours (take after take) to get them just right.\u00a0 I need to get over this.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think the students will mind if I stumble over words here and there.\u00a0 They don\u2019t seem to mind when I do it in person (I think).<\/p>\n

12. That I should not overlook the significance of any job\/profession.<\/strong> Society has long attributed importance to the services that medical professionals provide for us. This is clearly evident in times such as these.\u00a0 My personal list of heroes has grown, though.\u00a0 We are surviving now because of the good work of grocery store stockers, truck drivers, toilet paper suppliers, and the like.\u00a0 Everyone has value, and everyone contributes.<\/p>\n

13. That people, divided in so many ways, do have the ability to work together to face a common challenge.<\/strong> It has taken a little while for it to happen, but it seems to me that people are coming together on this. People who normally disagree with one another about almost everything on social media are now saying and sharing some of the same things.\u00a0 Sure, there is still some degree of finger pointing and blame spreading, but in terms of the importance of social distancing, other good practices, and appreciation of caregivers\/heroes, the message is unified.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like that it has taken a crisis to bring this out, but nonetheless it is uplifting to see people thinking and working together.<\/p>\n

There are many more lessons to be learned, I\u2019m sure.\u00a0 I imagine that you share some of these with me and that you have some of your own as well.\u00a0 Our current situation will end at some point, and we will likely go back to a way of life that resembles (at least somewhat) our pre-pandemic lives.\u00a0 I hope that we will remember these lessons when that time comes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I shared a few lessons that I have learned.\u00a0 In the spirit of author Robert Fulghum\u2019s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, I realized that our current situation has provided reminders of some basic but significant ideas about ourselves and our lives.\u00a0 In this week\u2019s post, I am glad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":267,"template":"","update-categories":[330],"class_list":["post-263","furman-update","type-furman-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","furman-update-category-john"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reflections\/263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reflections"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/furman-update"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reflections\/263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"furman-update-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/cothran-center-vocational-reflection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update-categories?post=263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}