Reflection

Every day this week has been a really long year or two, huh?

I don’t know about you, but I sense myself becoming more anxious by the minute. The impact of the Coronavirus has quickly disrupted our lives and our campus. And if some people are correct, we are only in the beginning stages of this prolonged interruption. 

As I sat in front of my computer the other day trying to take in all this news about travel suspensions, the economy, the NBA suspending their season, the hundreds of universities moving classes online, concerns about our elders’ health and safety, friends around the country in quarantine, switching from Twitter to the New York Times to Gmail to read the latest news, I sensed panic brewing in my soul, felt myself becoming overwhelmed, and noticed I felt paralyzed by what I should be doing to prepare. 

Then…I took a walk. It wasn’t an intentional way of self-care, mind you. I just needed to walk home. But the walk changed a few things for me.

A bird was chirping so loud it was all I could hear. I walked past a dog playing in its owner’s backyard. A squirrel was running around the neighborhood as if it was playing a game of tag. The sky was the perfect shade of blue with a sprinkling of gorgeous white clouds. The temperature was perfect and the breeze refreshing.

For a moment, a moment, I felt as if everything was ok. The anxiety subsided, I no longer felt paralyzed, and I could slowly and deeply breathe. And for a moment, I thought maybe everything was going to be ok, even if things would get worse.

In light of living in the tension and anxiety of the unknown, my encouragement to you is to breathe, to take a walk, and to become mindful of the world around you.

I know it might sound trite, too simple, or unrealistic, but it works if only for a minute. It has the power to snap you out of anxiety and into a sense of calm. We all need glimpses of calm once and a while. Especially now.

As a hornet hive, we need to take care of each other. No doubt about it, we have important work to do as we take care of our community, encourage our students, continue as an institution, and be present in this most unprecedented situation. Things will look different for a while, but I was again reminded this past week, as we improvise and adapt to these challenges, what an incredible group of people we have at the University of Lynchburg.

The disruptions and interruptions will come and go, but we are truly in this together. I honestly think that will make us a stronger community, a better institution, and a campus that will continue to protect, with calm and resolve, its hive. 

Be safe. Be well.