“When it was dark, you always carried the sun in your hand for me.” ~Sean O’Casey

Dear Universe,

In just a couple of weeks, it feels as if our entire world has turned upside down.

The coronavirus is officially a worldwide pandemic and we are living in times we have never seen before.

Every day we are experiencing a new normal—from social distancing to working from home, to just an overall reset or halting of our regular routines.

Events and trips have been canceled. Vacations have been postponed. Schools are shut down. Gyms are closed. Restaurants too. Masks cover smiles, and latex gloves are looking like a standard accessory.

The roads are quiet. People are hosting virtual hangouts. Supermarket shelves are barren. Hand sanitizer is sold out. And don’t get me started on toilet paper.

It almost looks like a scene from a sci-fi film, or something we would read about in some dystopian novel, but it’s not. It’s real life. It’s alarming. It’s scary. And it’s also causing us to rise up in ways we never imagined we would have to.

All around us, we see people doing just that. People are donating, volunteering and sharing what they can. Others are reaching out more to check on one another and thinking of ways they can help. It’s inspiring and fills my heart up.

We don’t know when this will end. We don’t even know what tomorrow will bring. But I’m reminded that when nothing is sure, anything is possible.

I know there has to be a silver lining in all of this. I also know that not everyone is in a space to think like that now, which I understand. So many of us are simply taking these new changes and adjustments day-to-day. We are doing the best we can to juggle it all and not lose our sanity.

“Fear and uncertainty are often the first steps on the road towards personal growth.” ~Dee Waldeck

But yesterday, I asked someone, “What do you think will come from all of this? The entire world is basically on a timeout. What do you think we’ll learn?”

The response I got was, “Probably nothing. People will go back to their lives just as it was before.”

The answer stung. On the one hand, I know this could be true, but on the other hand, I so want it not to be. I want us to be better than that. I want us—the collective whole of people—to come out on the other side of this experience different somehow.

I want us to be wiser and kinder. I want us to be more patient, to not take the big or little things for granted. I want us to not stress the silly, small stuff. I want us to never forget that our health and the health of our loved ones is the most important thing there is.

I want us to fully appreciate the gift of each day. I want us to fully enjoy a handshake, a hug, or a dinner with a group of friends. I want us to stop saying, “I have to,” and instead say, “I get to.”

I want us to say thank you more often, apologize when we should, and say I love you more than we ever have before.

Life is a privilege. All of it.

And I hope that when we are on the other side of this, whenever that may be, we can all be a little softer, a little more in tune with ourselves, and a little more loving to the people and the world around us.

I hope that in slowing down, we remember we don’t always have to move so fast.

I hope.

With Gratitude,