The Two Lessons We Just Learned
Every day I don't know what to say.
It's all so surreal, this life, this planet, this virus, this existence.
And it changes all the time.
For the past few years, I've thought that there were two big lessons that we seemed not to be understanding:
The only real time is the time right now. No future. No past. Just the present moment. This is all we have.
We are all connected. Every single one of us on this planet is connected, including the animals.
And wow did we just learn those lessons.
The coronavirus just smashed down a big ruler on society's desk and yelled like a mean old schoolteaching nun, "PAY ATTENTION!"
News from yesterday suddenly means nothing.
All the plans we made for this month and this year now seem silly.
Most of us barely know what day of the week it is.
We learned the hard way that our well-being can be dramatically affected by not only who we are close to, but by who they have stood close to, and beyond – all ripples in a huge, global pond.
So we isolate and live in the present moment because it is all we have.
Life got so real so quickly that it hurts just to consider it.
And that's not minding the hurt that's going on all around us, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The sadness of the world is so immense in this moment that we could drown in that ocean of sad if we stayed there.
So we can't stay there.
Dip a toe in the sadness each day. Feel it, understand it, and then get back on shore.
You're no good to anyone if you drown.
I wish reality didn't have to hurt like this. I wish I could wave some wand and bring us all back to January and we could all (including the U.S. President) make better choices. But we can't.
So we move forward. One moment at a time.
Even as I type this, I can hear the birds outside my window, singing after the rain. We'll be like that one day, too. But for now, stay safe. The storm is still raging.