Thoughts on Returning to In-Person Co-Counseling
To find our best thinking about meeting in person, we will want to face, and discharge on, what the COVID-19 pandemic revealed: Human intelligence in action [functioning], as well as the distresses and structural inequalities in our societies that can no longer be hidden [ignored].
DISCHARGING ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
We can discharge on the following:
We can discharge on what the pandemic has been like for us.
This will include remembering and discharging on the early days [beginning] of the pandemic. We can look at [perceive] it as a new hurt. We can also work on our early distress that the pandemic restimulated.
What have our lives in the pandemic been like? Can you remember the fear, when no one knew what COVID-19 was or what enabled the virus to transfer hosts? Can you remember the fears of death; the grief at the massive losses; the anger at the overt, long-standing [having existed a long time] inequities that were revealed?
We can also look at the outpourings of camaraderie [solidarity], generosity, love, and courage. We can look at the inventiveness of individuals and of groups of workers (such as healthcare workers, service workers, delivery workers, artists, scientists, and many others) who ensured the survival of others and acted to keep our hope alive.
We can discharge on what it has been like to do all RC activities online for more than three years.
We can discharge on wherever we fall on the spectrum of “I desperately want to return to in-person events,” to “I never want to return to them.”
We can discharge on our longings [desires] for life to be “normal” again.
OUR FEELINGS ABOUT ONLINE VERSUS IN-PERSON
All the feelings that will accompany the prospect of in-person RC activities are welcomed for discharge or enjoyment. For example, we may feel relief, joy, embarrassment, shyness, anger, terror, desperation, curiosity, eagerness.
We may feel an urgency to connect with Co-Counselors in person, or we may feel reluctant.
If we’ve never met in an RC context, except online or by phone, the idea of meeting in person may unsettle us.
If we have built relationships across wide geographical expanses, we may face the prospect of leaving an online class with people we’ve grown close to, and heading to new classes closer [geographically] to home.
Some classes may choose to be “hybrid” (both online and in person) for a while. That arrangement can give rise to [can produce] feelings.
We are fortunate to have online technology, such as Zoom. At the same time, the fact that many RCers lack easily available, or reliable, technology, once again highlights the painful disparities in our world.
Zoom, and other online video conference programs, will continue to be an important tool for RC. We in the RC Community were quick to utilize it, and it has enabled many of us to stay connected during a hard time. It allows many people to access RC, who otherwise could not. It saves transportation costs for individuals, for the environment, and for our funding resources.
MAKING AGREEMENTS FOR MEETING IN PERSON
We all need to figure out conditions for meeting safely in person. We need to be in good communication, with the people we intend to meet with, about the kinds of risks we and they are willing to take. We will need to consider age, health, state of immune systems, and vulnerability of housemates [the people we live with].
We can do the following:
We can agree on how we will behave [interact or make contact with others] for the week prior to our getting together [meeting in person].
We can agree on whether we will wear masks if we meet indoors.
We can agree to not meet in person if we feel sick in any way.
We can agree to not meet in person if we have been exposed to COVID-19 (or the flu or RSV [Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common respiratory virus]) within seven days.
We can respect and follow the lead of anyone who needs to be especially careful because of health considerations for themselves, their families, or their housemates. For example, we can agree to wear masks, meet outdoors, or allow for air flow or air purification.
We can fully disclose our vaccination status. (Being “fully vaccinated,” at this point, means having had one of the most recent [bivalent] COVID-19 vaccines.)
We can consider safety, apart from COVID-19. Some of us live where violence has increased, either post-pandemic or as a part of everyday life. We may need to seek good information and perspectives on whether meeting in person is worth the risk of, for example, using public transportation.
We can consult with our Area Reference Persons (ARPs) and get their permission. We will need to expect guidance and counseling from our ARPs and RC teachers, who likely know the most about individuals’ detailed ability to think about themselves and about others. For those of us in “pods” (RCers meeting in small in-person groups for a Zoom workshop), we can ask our ARP to possibly appoint a leader.
We can discharge relevant feelings. Some examples might include feelings about inconvenience, solidarity, independence, loneliness, fears of “contagion,” conspiracy theories, belief in science, trust, and trustworthiness.
New York, New York, USA
(Present Time 213, October 2023)