I’ve learnt a new word, well maybe not exactly new but a new meaning, recycled and repurposed for the times we live in.
languishing adjective
failing to make progress or be successful.
Interestingly I never thought it had such negative connotations
until just now when I googled the definition. I see it more as lazing by a deep
blue pool sparkling in the sunlight or a woollen jumper languishing at the
bottom of the washing basket waiting for a careful handwash. There’s some kind
of luxury to the word as it richly flows off the tongue.
Let’s keep hold of the positive, glass half full strands
as we dive into something a little murkier….
the
seemingly never-ending pandemic!
I came across the word “languishing” by chance scrolling
through Facebook, as I stumble across most things these days. It was an article
published in the New York Times
There’s a
Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/19/well/mind/covid-mental-health-languishing.html
Well
I can certainly relate to the “blah” feeling so I clicked and read further and
you can read it too by clicking on the above link, but here are my own thoughts
with some pretty pictures…
Languishing
is described as the middle child of mental health somewhere in the no man’s
land between depression and thriving.
It
seems to be where a lot of us are at just now, we survived 2020 and had high
hopes for 2021, after all the roadmap appears to be on course and life is
getting back to some sense of “normality”.
But I
know from talking to people that there just isn’t as much sparkle in the world
at the moment, particularly for those of us who are extroverts by nature, who
usually thrive on company and interaction with others. We’ve retreated so far
into our comfortable shells that even the idea of poking our heads out is
agonisingly daunting.
Let’s
just lie on the sofa and binge watch some more Netflix until all of this goes
away and if it doesn’t let’s just binge watch some more – languishing in the cosiness
of the familiar.
And
that’s OK, we’re not really depressed.
I
have some experience of depression; I’m still taking a tiny tablet each day to
keep me balanced and Andrew had bad depression that cast a long black shadow
over family life for many years. This is certainly different.
But
we are stuck, and I keep saying “we” because I know this applies to others. We
are just not thriving as we might do in better times.
The
garden this year offers an interesting illustration.
Last
year we had a very sunny spring, both warmer and wetter, much more conducive
for plants flourishing in the garden.
And
we desperately needed the sunshine last year as we began to grapple with the
very first lockdown and the idea of staying at home to save lives. We were,
maybe not filled with enthusiasm but at least we seemed to have more purpose
and resolve to achieve things.
Sadly,
the pandemic is no longer a novelty, in the sense of being new rather than a
frivolous bauble (oh how rich our language is?). We are a bit bored now and
even if we know there is light at the end of the tunnel with vaccinations and
tumbling figures over here, we can see the virus still raging out of control in
other parts of the world. It will impact all our lives for a very long time,
maybe forever.
So how
do we flourish again?
Maybe
we need to go back in the garden, the daffodils are shrivelled and well past
their best, some tulips sadly droop, other plants have died in this dry
weather.
However,
there is resilience, buds are appearing with new growth, good things are around
the corner. And some plants that haven’t blossomed this year may get another
chance, there’s always next spring.
One
thing I know for sure from experiencing early widowhood, being a single parent
and surviving cancer is that you can bounce back.
It
would be flippant to say you ALWAYS do, maybe you don’t bounce so high, hard
knock chip off some sparkle and you have battle-scars.
But
just like that real wool jumper languishing at the bottom of the wash basket,
with some tender care and attention you can be revived.
