March 23, 2020

Essence

Essential or non-essential? What kind of question is that? I hear it at work where the non-essential providers (doctors!) are given other jobs to do, despite their excellence at their craft. I hear it in describing what type of visits we can see. An annual physical is not essential, fortunately preventing pregnancies by inserting IUD’s is essential. Prenatal care: essential. What about talking with someone about their grief and anxiety? Isn’t that essential? And now the governor (not soon enough according to many) has mandated that people stay home except for essential activities. I am lucky because I have an essential job, pharmacists and grocery store checkers are essential. But would I ever really say that my musician friends, who bring joy and healing with their music, be non-essential? Never, but I do want them to stay safe and healthy. So stay home, they must, but not because they are non-essential. And there is other work that people do that may not be essential to the great State of Washington, but are essential to me. My friends are essential to me. And that is why I want them all to stay home and be safe.

Wash your hands.

And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.