Roller coaster blues

“Life can be like a roller coaster with its ups and downs. What matters is whether you are keeping your eyes open or closed during the ride and who is next to you.”
–Ana Ortega–

This roller coaster ride we’ve been on since March of 2020 (and for some of you, longer) has given us plenty of twists and turns, but just when we thought it was slowing down, it’s picking up speed to send us around again.

Our patience is wearing thin, and our hearts are heavy. Just yesterday, by text message, we learned of the death of a friend’s brother who lost his battle with COVID after a 4-week hospital stay.

Restaurants and other service-based businesses everywhere are struggling to stay open, their existence threatened by months of skeleton crews, disrupted supplies, unpredictable demand, and challenging health guidelines. Medical personnel on the front lines of COVID are working seemingly endless shifts. Others are suffering through fires, hurricanes, floods, war, hunger, or the loss of a job or a home.

We all know that it’s only through the darkness that we can sense the light. Difficult times help us recognize and appreciate the small joys that might otherwise go unnoticed, but what else can we gain from this unprecedented ride of our lives?

It’s our hope that we emerge with a more fully developed sense of empathy, and there are signs that this is indeed the case. Work, especially, is changing as people reevaluate what’s really most important to them in the face of so much uncertainty. Organizations everywhere are taking a close look at their culture to support not just diversity, equity, and inclusion, but to be the kind of place where people feel safe, where they can make a difference, and where innovation can thrive.

So keep holding on. Or let go and lift up your arms. However you choose to experience the ride, remember those who are sitting next to you, in front, and behind. Here’s our chance to help create a kinder, gentler, more empathetic world that’s going to be worth the ride.

One great thing for 09.07.21 – See why Simon Sinek’s talk on empathy has been called one of the greatest speeches of all time and is more relevant today than ever.