In a not-so-distant past, it felt normal to structure the year with events. Where typical events would be birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and vacations. Just like the seasons, they reappear every year and give us something to look forward to.

The longer the pandemic stays with us, the harder it seems for people to deal with the desire to have these events back as we used to have them.

The thing is, that most often what it is that people want to have back is the format, not the event.

And there are good reasons for that. The most evident one is the need for contact we all experience. It is hard to shift from being a social animal to a solitary one. What is almost as important for many, is the question of status. Being able to organize an event with other people gives us status, it positions us within our community. The less we can do it, the more we start to lose orientation as to how we relate to our environment.

And yet, what people talk about, is the inability to make plans.

What they mean, is the sense that they cannot make the plans they are used to. It’s a way to trick oneself out of feeling in control of one’s life. And, it’s a way to let oneself of the hook from designing a new experience that could do something to satisfy whatever is needed and in reach.

It happens when emotions are left unacknowledged until they become a “magnet”.