I was going to write about this in early May. I procrastinated, started to enjoy the weather and just got busy. Then I was going to write about this on Thanksgiving, but got busy, enjoyed the weather and procrastinated.

So now it’s a rainy Saturday basically, mid-December and I’ve finally slowed down a bit, not enjoying the weather and no longer procrastinating.

It’s about the pandemic—— worry, fear, confusion, scared, grateful, hopeful, and just in awe of the human spirt.

The pandemic has brought so much pain and grief to so many—— loss of loved ones, jobs, homes, friends, dignity, and hope. But with the darkest of moments, there is also a burning light—— within us all. Of compassion, generosity, love, kindness, empathy and a sense of morality. And, at times like these, in spite of everything or because of it, we see amazing all around us. There’s countless examples, I’m sure you’ve seen plenty. But I wanted to stop— — — — — just for a minute. Just to look around, to listen, to watch. To see that the sky is bluer, air is crisper, water cleaner, stars brighter and the birds louder— people talking to one another— neighbors being neighbors, helping each other, sharing and caring. We’re riding bikes, walking more, talking more. We’ve slowed down, a lot. In many cases, come to a dead stop. But is that such a terrible thing? Did we need something like this to appreciate what’s really important in your life. Family. Friends. Health. Love.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard—— really hard. We’ve had to live our lives over the past nine months completely foreign to us. We’re social creatures and instead of embracing one another, giving kisses and hugs we’re crossing the street. We look at you with disdain when you’re not wearing a mask and god forbid if your not standing six feet away. When someone sneezes, no longer do we say “God Bless You”—— no, we run from you like the plague and think COVID! It’s all so counter to who and what we are.

And for most of us, we’ve gotten a lesson in humility—— to do without, to sacrifice, to change our behavior, can’t see friends, not going out, to quarantine, to being in lockdown—— to know powerlessness.

But we’re resilient. We adapt. We persevere. We survive. We’ve learned to live differently.

And as the year of 2020 winds down and we’re ready to close the book on this long drawn out chapter, we’ll look back at this, changed forever, clinging to the old world and poised to start a new one.

Together, with love in our hearts and compassion in our veins.

We will make this a better place.

God Bless

-Tom Kaminsky