It is a different world than the one we lived when the weather was colder and the summer seemed farther and the routine of the later winter months still very much a quiet pace. We had allowed ourselves to start to wonder if a glimpse of color on the side of the road might be an early bloom. We started planning and dreaming of the months where light would grow longer and the frozen dirt will once again show it’s softer brown to warmly cover the early seeds from the frost that still surprises. We let thoughts of lighter clothes move closer to us. We gave ourselves moments to remember days by calm water and mornings when the birds gather outside eager to be the first sound heard in the morning. We lived our lives in a routine that seemed so certain, and now we understand that plans are not fixtures. We have with shocking speed learned to adjust from how we lived to how it must be. We hold the hands of those we can, and we mourn the loss of those that we can not, and this change in the life of our race has made us different people.
We are strong as individuals and we revere now more so those that help us get through each day by their hard work. The preparation time seemed small looking back at the timeline and with the grand scheme of unknowns, but we realize the grave importance in every decision and step. We were told to quickly buy supplies to last for unknown lengths and new realities, to speak with your family frankly and openly about the dangers of an unknown disease of pandemic scale and know that we must do this all immediately worldwide so that we do not hurt each other. Likewise in life’s years, this time of quarantine is not a lengthy burden to bear for health for so many and the pressure and extreme fatigue and anguish that are held by those in the front life.
We have learned with each day to complain less if not at all, to be thankful always, to help each other, and let each other talk at length to help openly discuss this extraordinary time. For this is a test of human kindness. To give up daily outside lives and precious moments that can never fully be recaptured, to help others who need us to help them work and live. Our sacrifices are so little, and the cause is so critical for so many that we must give of ourselves the request to help.
We are choosing to be patient, selfless, to know when we hear certain sentences masquerading as simplistic complaints filled with sharp words about what he or she can not do, rather than focusing on what we are doing for all. When we see those that are rising in protest whether on the streets or in worlds with calls of actions, it seems to belie the gravity of the instruction for our own well-being. When we witness actions against the advice of the world, we pause and wonder if their words are in some ways naive of the consequences of others who are also greatly sacrificing without speaking aloud for the greater good of humanity. For health is foremost and it is everyone’s necessity before all else, and we must understand the importance of protecting others with our own small sacrifices.
We are all experiencing this time very differently, but the message is the same. We are doing this for each other. We each have vastly varying circumstances and families with diverse compositions. All family members throughout the world echo the same sentiment. We protect the youngest as we do the most vulnerable. We shield all those that we love from hard words and make the answers simple when asked. We have learned so quickly that our time and this life are precious and we must protect, and we must listen, and we must realize that each day of health is a gift, each moment should be cherished and we hold tight to those we can. So we open the doors more to feel the air and see each day as the sun or the rain. We treasure and savor each step we take and walk to feel the differents ground and then meet again in our precious circle to talk to each other about each day rather than focusing on the future We pay attention to words spoken around us and we try to focus more on the joys and preferences of each other. For love is strong and bonds deep, and we know that by staying away from others that we want to hold close and be near, we are in fact outwardly manifesting our love for them and for our future.