Has Everything Changed Since Covid? ...by Sr. Julian

Since the Covid pandemic has eased somewhat, I hear often “Everything has changed since Covid.” Do you hear that too? Sometimes it seems almost like a lament. And I begin to think about what has changed.

People are traveling again. They were traveling less during Covid, but since 2023 people have begun to travel more and more regularly. I am not sure if the post-Covid pandemic travel is back to pre-Covid ‘normal,’ but travel has certainly increased.

 Students have returned to their classrooms. During the height of Covid, most often school was attended virtually. Was there more school absenteeism during Covid or now when students have returned physically to their classrooms? I am not sure.

 Here are some changes that I see. People work at home more. Employment statistics reflect that employers are arranging for more workers to work at home. And more workers are working at home than pre-Covid. For those who have returned physically to the workplace, is there more absenteeism or is it less than that which occurred during the Covid pandemic? Again, I do not know, and I wonder.

Do folks still get vaccines? My experience is that many no longer keep up with the newest vaccines available. The threat of serious illness or death seems to be less than during the height of the epidemic.

Are folks attending church services in-person again? Church services were provided virtually during the Covid pandemic. I often hear that the return of church-goers to their churches and synagogues has been slow and much less than pre-Covid. Is this your experience?

People are more than ever aware of respiratory symptoms around them. Some masking continues, particularly with those who see themselves as part of the vulnerable population. Even some spacing between people persists when someone is coughing or has respiratory symptoms.

Do people stay home more? Engage in recreation activities more at home? Less movie theater attendance? Less attendance at plays or performing arts? Are folks watching movies more at home and perhaps engaging in games more at home than before Covid? This is what I hear. Is this your observation too?

 I wouldn’t characterize these perceived changes as positive or negative. They are just what is. Or what has become ‘normal.’

What intrigues me is the impact of Covid on relationships. Have relationships deepened through being home together or through using virtual technology? Through the sharing of illness and death?

Or is there more distance between persons? Less in-person attendance at public gatherings? In private settings? Have differing views of Covid divided persons and families?

Or are your relationships just the same pre-Covid as post-Covid?

What is your experience? I don’t think there is an answer that fits all. What I sincerely hope is that relationships have been strengthened. And that our relationship with God has grown, expanded, that we have become more dependent on God.

And if not yet, why not start now? Why not experiment with creating a post-Covid change that can be nurturing and maybe even an adventure?

Here are some ideas:

• arrange an in-person get-together with a friend or family member with whom you have not communicated with recently
• create a prayer practice, even if just for a few minutes at a time
• plan a vacation even if near your home or just for a day
• sign up for a retreat.
• how about going for a walk with someone?
• what about attending church services in person?
• creating or reinstating community?

I might call these ideas ‘stretching’ ourselves. Perhaps we have become comfortable with the changes we have made during and since Covid. Do you need a post-Covid ‘stretch?’ Go for it.