Every morning when I wake up, the earth seems to look a little different from the day before. The clock seemed to stop ticking back in late March and early April and society seemed to find a gentler & kinder way to get along. Or so it seemed from the small world view outside our window. That facebook page called View from my Window aptly captured the common shelter-in-place experience from all over the planet, one window pane at a time. Life for many slowed down, habits changed, fresh beginnings were born and adaptation took on a new form. Of course, life for many, many others was much more challenging. It became chaotic, frightening, anxious and even deadly.
It is far too challenging to say that there are over 7 billion people on the planet with over 7 billion different ways to interpret what life is like right now. It is far too simplistic to boil it down to only 2, yet we as a nation keep managing to do just that.
The clock hands started moving again and the once quiet ticking startled me when life started looking like it might reawaken. Some people are morning, perky folks and some stay up late at night. Neither is wrong and each has benefits useful to some and worthless to others but both are valid. We live a very tangled life right now and we are challenged with navigating a world that seems at once foreign and old friend.
It is my hope and fervent prayer that we give each other grace and tender care while we gingerly step out and explore our surroundings, keeping in mind that two opposing bodies can inhabit the same exact space and yet report wildly differing accounts. Two differing counties or states or countries will obviously encounter even more broadly different outcomes.
Respect your neighbor’s boundaries and gently demand your own. This is the ultimate humanity test of huge proportions. I beg you to stop spreading hateful messages, copying and pasting defamatory “news” of either side and err on the side of decency. It will take human courage to extend a broad hug of kindness when you feel anxious in the face of difference. Resist that urge. We are neither red nor blue, neither right nor wrong, neither pro nor against. Bridge the gap that divides us. It might look scary over there and your feet might sweat as you walk across that bridge but I hear the grass looks just as green on both sides. It can.
We are you and me. I need you and I miss you.
Elaine
