It is scary out there folks. There is an element of uncertainty about the future that to my knowledge hasn’t existed in my lifetime. Sure, we’ve had periods of insecurity, but not to the extent that we have today. We’re scared for our finances, for our health, for our friends and family, for the future of our children who are out of school, for our elderly neighbors, for the business owner down the street, for our community in general, for our country, for our leaders, and more. We’ve believed ourselves to be damn near indestructible for so long and now this virus has taken us to our knees with such ease that we feel blindsided. For many, it feels like life is on hold.
And so I totally get it when I hear people saying things like “maybe we will never get back to normal” or “if this ever ends” or other ways of suggesting that this virus and this period of time have changed our lives forever. If it hasn’t already, I imagine that it will. Because whenever we grieve, whenever we acknowledge the loss of something (or someone) important to our “normal,” we inevitably change. We become more aware of the possibility of loss. We can’t continue to believe ourselves to be indestructible because we have seen firsthand that we are not. Many times we spend a period of time being more guarded. Sometimes we shut down completely. Sometimes it feels like life is on hold.
But there is hope. Actually, there is an abundance of hope. It is all around us and it is not shaken by our current situation. I feel more tangible hope today than I have ever felt in my life. There is hope that medical advancements will take the threat of this virus to a more manageable level. There is hope that the efforts of our government will keep small businesses alive and families afloat until we can get back to business. There is hope that we will learn something, do something, or find something during this home-bound situation that will be the silver-lining that we need just when we need it. There is hope that this time “stuck” together, or alone, or six-feet away, will be enough to buy us the time we need to get ahead of the curve. And there is hope that we will soon be permitted to return to life as we knew it. Or just about.
I haven’t published anything in a long time, but I literally could not escape this theme. It popped up everywhere: in work conversations, in personal conversations, in memes, in articles, in books, on the radio, in birthday cards, on TV. Having something to look forward to helps to carry us through hard times. Yes, hope for our future can lift us into tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. For as long as this takes. Hope for tomorrow is a huge piece of managing life today.
So today I ask you to make the plans that you are hesitant to make. No, I don’t know if I can hug my mom on Mother’s day but we have a tradition of getting massages to celebrate the day and I am going to make the plans. No, I don’t know if we’ll be able to kick off the summer on Memorial Day but my pool is going to be open and sparkling and ready for the party – I’m going to make the plans. I’m putting a date on the calendar to get together with every single person who reached out and said that we should do that “when things go back to normal.”
Here is what we need to do: we need to make the plans. And here’s the honest truth, we might have to change the plans. But let’s not let the fear of the uncertain future keep us from being hopeful. Let’s not rob ourselves of the joy and uplift that we get when we have something to look forward to. Let’s create the hope we need. Let’s make the plans.