You and me might be the ones that needs to change our minds first. Not becoming anti-vaxxers, but approaching it a bit differently. The threat of the pandemic

You and me might be the ones that needs to change our minds first. Not becoming anti-vaxxers, but approaching it a bit differently. The threat of the pandemic is very abstract. She knows that previously things where normal. Now there is all sorts of hurdles to fulfilling her basic human needs. It is a threat she can't fight head-on and win once and be done with it. Fleeing does not seem to work either, there is constant talk about the threat being imminent. She has probably lost at least some sense of meaningful community. That applies to all of us, but does not lessen her suffering. We might do better by listening and acknowledging the sacrifices she has made during the pandemic. We can let her talk and explain her views. There might be a lot of feelings like confusion, anxiety, and frustration that needs to be processed. It will for sure not come out as a coherent argument so we should not attack it when it contains logical inconsistencies. Instead let us just listen. There is sure to be common ground with her in how challenging being away from friends/family has been etc. Focus on shared experiences. Eventually perhaps there is a possibility to try to make sense of the world together. Discuss future plans, move the agenda away from the threat and into a tangible tomorrow. There is sure to be dead-ends. Of course it is frustrating to see loved ones not just understand us. But letting this take some time might help ourselves learn both about our loved ones and also what really matters in life.