They say that we go through grief differently, but that there are five common stages of grief people experience. We may experience some or all, and we can move through the stages at different time frames through the grieving process.

They are, according to this source: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

I think it is helpful to consider these as we consider the changing world around us, and our communal loss of a prior way of life.

I’m not sure what stage we should consider the initial response, characterized largely by fear and action to shift into a new way of life.

But now as we settle in, if we have not been directly affected by Covid-19 in the health sense (didn’t get sick, or experience a loved one getting sick), I sense that many people are feeling a sense of anger, and perhaps bargaining (what could I – or we as a society – have done to avoid this). If we didn’t see immediate harm in our surroundings, we might think, was this loss of our way of life, and possibly my job, worth it?

Funny how hindsight works when the fear wears off.

Will we move into acceptance over time and what will that look like?

Or will we remain back and forth in the other stages of grief?

It may have been easier in the immediate stages, in the fear and the change. Actions to take were clear. But now what? What’s next? How do we accept the loss and rebuild the world that we want to create around us?