Like so many other people, I want life to get back to normal.
I am tired of social distancing and I am tired of sheltering in place. I am tired of being afraid to touch something and maybe get ill from it. I am tired of the gloves and the face masks. I am tired of washing my hands all the time and singing a little song to make sure I have done it long enough to actually kill a virus.
I want to see my friends, and hug my family. I want to worship together on Sunday morning. I want to eat out, and laugh with friends over a good meal. I want to go to a movie or walk in the park and not worry about how close people are to me. I want to go the library, and check out a new book. There are so many big and little things that I want to do now that I can not do them. In short, I am suffering from quarantine fatigue.
Yet, I have come to the realization that the world has changed, and I have been changed by this experience. I recognize now how vulnerable we all are on so many levels. I understand better now about systemic weak points, supply chain inefficiencies, and structural inequities. I comprehend that denial is not an effective coping strategy and resilience in the face of adversity does not happen overnight.
Upon great reflection and deeply personal experiences, I know now that all of us will know someone who has lost a loved one or we, ourselves, will have lost someone we love to COVID-19. The grief of these losses is personal and collective. And like those who came before us and survived WWII or the Depression, no one is immune to the suffering.
I also know that the statistics posted each new day are not numbers. They are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, husband and wives, grandparents and cousins. What binds us together now in the midst of COVID-19 is our shared grief and shared losses.
Still, in the midst of this pain and suffering, I have learned that compassion is a healthy choice. Small acts of kindness can transform my day such as when a friend leaves us flowers at our door, or when a child who rings our door bell and leaves behind a bag of cookies with the card that reads “Things may be crummy but you‘re one tough cookie.” On another day, the card from a long distant friend and the phone call from a loved one can make me pause and remember that our strength comes from our interdependence more than our rugged individualism.
I also have learned that the only way through this is together. I realize now that my personal journey of acceptance, hope and resilience is intimately connected to our collective journey of acceptance, hope and resilience. I can not fully move forward into a changed world if we do not collectively move forward together.
The world has changed. I understand this better now. My life and your life are intertwined. And no matter what happens next, we must support each other more, trust each other more, and love each other more. For this is the pathway to acceptance and greater understanding.
Finally, I understand better now that we are kind and loving people at our core. We are willing to rise to our challenges when we are supported and respected. We are capable of exquisite planning and execution. We are creative and collaborative. We are stronger than we thought we were, and we will make it through this time together.
So, be well, be hopeful and find the light in and around the challenges, the grief and the suffering. This is our time to be beacons of hope for each other.
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