Have you heard of the Coronacoaster?
One day you’re loving your bubble, doing workouts and baking sourdough, the next, you’re crying, drinking wine for breakfast, and missing people you don’t even like. Welcome to life on the Coronacoaster, A.K.A, 2020.
I didn’t write that, someone on Instagram did, and it’s been shared around the internet, probably because it’s so relatable.
I’m an adult, and I hate change. As a kid, I found it hard, too, but as an adult, I find it even more unsettling. Children, on the other hand, seem to be handling this pandemic better than all of us adults put together.
Kids are interesting creatures. They are mini adults, mini people, but they have the same huge capacity to feel, if not more. And they have qualities that help them get through things like this.
Here’s some of things I’ve learnt from children during this time:
Life is an adventure, so treat it that way
I remember seeing my nephew and nieces shortly after their school got cancelled. My nephew’s eyes were bright with excitement as he importantly filled me in on his life. (“And guess what, Chanee? Guess what?”)
It struck me how he viewed the entire situation, and his life, in general, as one big adventure waiting to happen. An adventure with challenges, yes, but every problem was an opportunity for new and exciting ways to solve it.
Life is unfair, and sometimes the answer is ‘no’
If there’s anything kids know it’s that rules exist. They may hate rules, but it’s ingrained in them that life is full of them, so it’s what they come to expect. Knowing that life is unfair, and the answer is often ‘no’, isn’t something they like, and they may kick and scream for an hour, but at the end of the day, they learn that it’s part and parcel of life.
Nothing about this pandemic is fair. Imagine embracing the unfairness of it all, really developing an acceptance of it – would it help?
Stay playful and focus on the present
“Can you play with me?” Is something most kids will ask. Playing is everything to them. Children exist much more in the present moment than adults do. The important things to children are often things that concern the here and now. Living in the moment means they focus on what the priority is right then and there, instead of living ten steps behind, or a thousand steps ahead.
Ask questions and stay curious
People need answers. While children are not usually shy to ask questions, adults can be. When children ask questions, they receive answers, and they will likely keep asking until they get the answers they want. But it’s the curious part that separates children from adults. Curiosity is something that drives them, and they aren’t afraid to show it. By staying curious, they adopt a way of life that keeps them observing situations in an open, unbiased way.
There is no shame in feeling strong emotions
We all feel them, don’t we? I mean, how could we not? Children, by nature, are expressive, they don’t hold back easily. Children cry sometimes, and it’s not only accepted, but natural. We teach empathy and compassion to our children, but when it comes to practicing it on ourselves we can be our own harshest critics. Our own emotions can be riding the ups and downs of the Coronacoaster, but for whatever reason, we don’t always display what we’re going through openly.
Children teach us that there’s no shame in feeling big emotions. Even if they have no way to express them, children instinctively understand that strong feelings do exist, and they often have a pure and simple way of reacting to them.
Could we allow ourselves to do the same?