What questions or answers are arising for me this year and in this moment?

Earlier this week, I was at a senior feeding site where, before the Pandemic, seniors could gather together to socialize and enjoy a hot-lunch provided by the local Council on Aging. Now carry-out lunches are available each week day. Seniors gather in the parking lot and practice social distancing as they stand in line to pick up their lunch. Some wear masks. Some do not.

Yesterday, one woman said, “Do you think we will ever get to sit down and eat together again?”

A man replied, “Not ‘til next year.”

A second woman chimed in with an authoritative tone, “All those people taking to the streets don’t seem worried about a virus. They’re not social distancing. I know the virus is over,” she added. “They just don’t want to tell us.”

I felt judgment rising in me. I wanted to say, “Don’t you see their pain and frustration? Don’t you understand that it is deeper than their fear of the virus?” I also wanted to challenge her statement that the “virus was over.” I wanted to tell her, “That is the stupidest statement I have ever heard.”

Lots of questions and answers were on the tip of my tongue but they were reactive and I wanted to respond instead of react. I did not want to let her statement go but I had to ask myself, “How do I share my thought in a non challenging way?”

Finally, I said, “I’m not sure the virus is over. The protests have brought massive amounts of people together. I’m going to wait and see what happens with the virus stats in the next couple of weeks.”

I did my best to own my thoughts and my feelings and still allow her to have hers. I learned long ago that two people can agree to disagree. It’s possible that both can feel like they have been heard. One does not have to lose so another can win.