The View from Here

What are the gifts that we will take from this time-

this time of fear and illness and isolation?

Will we remember the lack, the inconvenience, the loss of so much of what was normal and comfortable?

Perhaps we can’t help but look to the darkness first, the sadness and grief for so much lost. So many are hurting, so much has changed.

But, maybe we will also think back to the quiet times of contemplation,

of reaching out to family and friends in ways we have lost in the chaos of our frenetic lives, and perhaps we will discover gratitude.

Maybe we will remember the creativity and ingenuity of reimagining our lives, of rest and the rejuvenation of our souls and learning new skills and new things about ourselves.

This time will change us, redefining what is truly necessary, teaching us that we can do with so much less that we thought.

Perhaps the most important lesson of all will be the realization that we need each other in ways that we had long forgotten, but also that time spent alone can bring priceless gifts of introspection and wisdom.