The International Connection
In my previous posts, I spoke about relying on others to recognize our needs and being able to recognize our own needs.
Given the current lockdowns in Europe, we need to acknowledge that there are many people who do not feel as though their needs are being met and who, while recognizing their needs, can not actualise them.
In Australia, we are lucky at the moment. We are moving into spring and summer, our infection rates are low and we seem to have some handle on the situation. This does not take away from the fact that many of us have family and friends overseas and with the festive season coming up, this can create emotional challenges.
Australia still has travel restrictions in place. We can’t just fly over there for the season’s celebration and NYE, nor can they come here to escape the cold winter or the lockdown.
How do you feel about not being able to spend this time with your family and friends in overseas? This one-time-a-year trip that so many of us had planned and looked forward to? This imposed travel restriction when you live in a country with such low infection rates? Angry, disappointed, frustrated?
If you are one of the lucky ones who have been granted permission to depart Australia for a visit ‘back home’, do you know how you will manage your uncertainty about the time you will spend overseas with flight and entry restrictions? How will you manage the two weeks of quarantine in a hotel - potentially without access to fresh air or any personal contact with friends and family? How do you have the conversation with your family that it’s just “too hard”?
Maybe you weren’t planning to spend the festive season with family overseas. But you skype or zoom with your connections and their mood is taking a dive as much as the temperatures are. It’s getting dark, cold and they can’t even connect with friends properly for a cup of tea or the pre-festive season get-togethers.
What tools do you need to make this situation easier for yourself and your loved ones? Do you have the resilience and emotional strength to support them and yourself? Are you mindful of your own well-being as you back your family and friends? I can’t ease the restrictions, but I can assist you as you navigate through the next weeks and months.
If you speak German, listen to my interview with SBS German Radio on this topic.