We’ve all seen the jokes going around about how 2020 has been an absolute disaster. While some of them are quite funny (and you have to laugh sometimes), it really has been a difficult year so far. The pandemic has drastically changed our way of life and our way of connecting with each other. Our neighbours to the south are facing hard questions about racism and discrimination, with a highly contested election upcoming. Here in Canada, we are facing our own questions around racial inequality, and continue to deal with the impacts of colonialism on indigenous and non-indigenous people alike.
If you’re feeling discouraged and tired, you’re certainly not alone. Members of our network are talking about how their staff are feeling: scared, frustrated, unsure of what the future holds and their capacity to deal with what it may bring.
What good can we find from this? Ashley Vandepoele, Care Manager at Dr. Gendreau Personal Care Home in Ste. Rose, said the following: “It’s really hard, but you know, it’s bringing us together in a different way.”
She’s right, and it’s important to remember that we are not alone in this fight against disease and in these fights against social injustice. The Compassion Network is made up of over 6,000 employees who have chosen a career where helping others is at the forefront. They’ve continued to go to work through Covid scares and ever-changing guidelines. They’re putting residents and patients first, they’re doing everything they can to care for each other and their communities. If you want to read more about how they’ve responded, please check out your Canstar Community Newspaper or La Liberté this week, where we’re proud to share some their stories. You can also read them here in English or here in French.
How else can we cultivate inner peace during these turbulent times? There are ways to build our resiliency, our self-compassion, and our hope for the future. Compassion Network is offering several training programs this Fall (find out more here), and we’ve shared some more free online resources in this newsletter.
Now is the time to remember that we are in this together, as a Network, as health care employees, as people. Helen Keller, who knew a thing or two about resiliency, once said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”
We are wishing you well, we are wishing you peace of mind and most of all, we are wishing you self-compassion and self-care. We hope the resources we’re offering will help you in some small way, and as always, we encourage you to get in touch with us if we can be of service in any other way.
Stay safe,
Daniel Lussier