Regular readers may have noticed my silence on current geopolitical and economic developments. After my deep dive into the Trump administration’s policy framework and the discomfort I felt witnessing its implementation, I removed myself from most social media news streams. The outrage, justified or not, wasn’t good for my mental well-being.
Even so, the current environment remains difficult and hard to ignore.
The haphazard policymaking and implementation in the world’s most influential economy has caused significant global uncertainty. Global uncertainty metrics reflect this – many are at or near all-time highs. Add to that the ongoing wars, climate change, and environmental disasters, and the mental toll only deepens.
We were not designed to consume the live eradication of nations, the killing of children, or the obliteration of cities before breakfast. Our primal brain and nervous systems cannot distinguish between distant suffering and local threat, between the danger for people in Ukraine and our neighbourhood. Not when we can hear and see their anguish close and in real time. Yes, our rational brains will compute that it’s far away, but our primal, emotional wiring doesn’t.
This level of uncertainty filters through to how people feel about money and life. People feel unsafe and unsure. People are touchy. At the slightest provocation, oversized reactions follow.
Perhaps I am in a life stage where things feel particularly heavy for most people - ageing parents, children struggling to find their way in life, midlife financial challenges. Perhaps years of low economic prospects in South Africa have worn us down. Perhaps technology is moving too fast for all of us. Maybe it’s all of it.
It may help to evaluate and admit – honestly - how we’re feeling. The dam is full. Maybe close to bursting. Perhaps the word for the moment is overwhelm. It would help if we recognised that we may not be functioning optimally, and that most people we meet are in the same boat.
Perhaps the best thing we can do right now is offer grace to ourselves and others. Grace creates space to pause. And allows us to literally and figuratively breathe. And from that place, extend grace to others. Which often means letting them react and be and then move on.
There will be a time to push again - to strive for a better future. But perhaps, right now, it may be time to pause and create the capacity for that future.
Note: What better time to pause than in the middle of winter? I am planning to pause, to hibernate with a good book in front of the fire or go on a long walk. I hope you extend this grace to yourself, too.
Ps: I love to hear your comments. If you are not on our mailing list, you can subscribe to receive this blog every week on our website www.foundationsa.com.
Kind regards,
Sunél