skipping stones

Beginning in March of 2020, the world began to narrow, and the breeze of our existence became a roiling gust. Before, we may have lived lives of either choice or inertia. For all, it forced a time of measurement. Work, relationships, health, goals, addictions, and dreams, all were suddenly spotlit for examination. As the pandemic strengthened, the evolution of our new selves were formed from signals received within, and possibly with the influence of others. A time when, by nature, we first assessed our own state. Is anything about this new world good? What about it is torment? Is this the wake up call I needed, or do I feel cheated? Then we began to see its impact on others. Those who suffered and passed, those who lost jobs, bolstered by the noble reaction of caregivers. All put themselves on notice. In considering young people, those who were about to enter a scholastic or career leap, they became without choice, stifled by the headwind. Many stayed or returned home, placing their ‘ready to fly’ wings in the same closet where memories of yesterday became tarnished.If nothing else, we as a people in some ways became more similar through the push back of vulnerability. Paying for a way out became as much about emotion as monetary currency. As a country and a culture, we seem to forget sacrifice quickly, whether of our own or that of others. As individuals, we became more than we might realize during this time. More good, or more bad. What seems to matter most is looking closely, as the wheel turns fast again, at what we did, what we thought, the decisions we made, and how we made them, as time stood still.