We are all living with a lot of unknowns and that can be scary. So many unanswerable questions. How long will this last? Who among us will get sick? Will we lose our livelihoods? When will the economy right itself? What will things look like on the other side? How many lives will be lost? Will things be forever altered? What, if any, are the silver linings?
I have moments when I think, “This is so damn hard. I’m not sure I can do this” and moments when I think, “this is so damn hard and I’m doing it anyway. And so is everyone else.” This pandemic has been a reminder for me of what it means to be human. A reminder that while we may have the power to lord over Earth’s largest living things we can still be brought to our knees by the most microscopic.
I’ve been reminded of our vulnerability: that no matter how advanced our civilization may become, we will always be at the mercy of Nature. She will pray on the sick and the old, just as she does with other species. Call it luck, call it Darwinism, she cares little for our titles and less for our justifications. I remember this quote from a journal I used to have as a kid: there are no punishments in nature, only consequences.
To be human is to be vulnerable but also strong, intelligent but also instinctual. Developing vaccines? Intelligent. Hoarding toilet paper? Instinctual.
To be human is to have boundless HOPE, incredible ENDURANCE, and HUMOR even in the darkest of times. To be human is to have LOVE strong enough to lift cars, FAITH powerful enough to cause miracles, INGENUITY impressive enough to build flying machines and cure diseases. To be human is to have MINDFULNESS potent enough to create peace, even in the most challenging of times. To be human is to feel a CONNECTION to all humans, knowing that some things we experience are universal.
When the unknowns feel like too much, I remember all of this. Though life is uncertain, we have hope, endurance, humor, love, faith, ingenuity, awareness, and our connection to one another to pull us through. We are all in this together, even though we are apart.
Sending love to everyone today. This is so damn hard, but we are doing it. 💖