We cannot plan for a future we can’t imagine, and this is a whole new world we’re living in. The news reports estimate a lot of dark and scary things to come.
But they don’t know, and neither do we. What we can know is the love of our family and friends, the efforts made to reach out, the collective breath our planet is taking (more than 6 feet from the other planets).
People keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
St. Augustine of Hippo
We are the times. It’s our money that isn’t being spent, our bills that aren’t paid, our jobs that our lost. But it’s also our spirit that creates the energy around us. We are all grieving, we are all anxious, we are all worried, collectively.
But you know what else we are, collectively? Fans of the underdog. Lovers of stories with tribulation that end with a hope for the future. Did Frodo want to take the ring to Mordor? Hell no. Did he walk* it there? Sure did. Did Harry lose his parents and live in a closet under the stairs? He did, but he also defeated the greatest threat the Wizarding world had ever seen. Did Alice eat and drink her way through Wonderland hoping it would solve her problems? Okay, yes, though maybe that’s not the example we need right now…
Let’s support each other. Your house is a wreck? Mine, too. Learning a new skill? Let me see! Laying in bed all day googling big cat animal sanctuaries? Tell us what you find out! Picking up community provided bagged meals for your babies to eat? Let us (metaphorically) hold your hand; we all get by with a little help from our friends!
Many of us are new to asking for help, but we find ourselves in a world that will be nothing but new. We can’t imagine it, so I’m choosing to imagine it brightly–filled with all the home gardens we pinned six years ago, where friends bake goods to share, where neighbors make meals for whoever is hungry. And leaving it at that, I’m choosing to focus on now. Now — and Love — are the only certain things.
*seriously the eagles tho?
Illegibly K.M. West 
2 responses to “Certainty in Uncertain Times.”
Thanks for those much needed words of hope and love. Adversity is yet again our teacher, but not our conqueror! And the home gardening project is coming together nicely 😉
[…] After a few weeks of social isolation, we’re all itching to get back to normal. But slowly we are realizing that the normal we left behind in March is no longer viable. Unemployment is rampant, long-standing businesses have shut their doors, and bills will soon come due. The landscape around us is changing; people are losing their lives/their loved ones while we stay locked behind closed doors. The future is uncertain. […]