When This is All Over

It is hard to put into words what has happened to our world.  If you were here today, I think that you would be in as much disbelief as I am.  The whole world has shut down.  There is this rather deadly virus that has rapidly spread over the world.  It started out in the East and has now made its way across the globe.  The contagion is silent, deadly and easily transmitted. 

We are learning to wash our hands all over again.  My hands are dry and red raw. We are forced to maintain a new level of hygiene because our lives depend on it.  Countries have shut their borders.  Countries have gone into lock down.  Our children are now home schooling. We are working from home. We are not allowed outside our homes except for attaining essentials like groceries or gaining medical care.  We can’t socialise in person anymore.   We can’t go to church or to weddings or to parties.  We can’t eat out at restaurants and cafes.  Millions of people are now unemployed because businesses have been forced to shut down in order to comply with the strict new social distancing measures that are being enforced.  We are basically house bound.  The list of restrictions is a lot longer than is mentioned here and that list is only going to get longer. 

I am sad.  I am sad for our world.  I am mostly sad for our children.  My tears are for them.  I am heartbroken that their lives have drastically changed.  They cannot live their normal lives and do the normal things that they do daily.  Our children are fighting a battle we ourselves have not fought before.  I worry for our children.  I wonder what this experience is going to do to them. 

Then I realise, that I can see the silver lining.  Our children will grow up to be stronger and wiser adults than we are.  They will be far more resilient than us.  They will tell their children and grandchildren about the great virus.  They will tell them how we came together for the first time in history and fought the almighty fight.  They will tell them how it made us all stronger and wiser.  They will talk about how this mighty fight changed our perspective and priorities forever.  They will say how never again did we take anything for granted and how we found a new appreciation for the simple things in life, like a handshake, a hug, a kiss.

Today, we band together as one planet to fight this attack by an invisible enemy on our world.  Yes, we are fighting it.  As bleak as it looks now, we will conquer this enemy.  That is because good always triumphs over evil.  Nobody is perfect but there is goodness in each of us.  It is through this goodness in humanity that we get our courage and the strength to fight.  We love our world.  We love the people in it.  We love us.  We are fighting and will continue to fight. 

We will come out the other side of this battle.  We will never be the same.  We will all bear our battle scars.  We will age a thousand years in a matter of months, but we will be stronger.  We will be stronger than we could possibly imagine.

When this is over, we will smile again; but I am smiling now because I am with my family, the ones I love the most.  When this is over, we will be safe again; but I am safe now because I have love.  When this is over, we will not be afraid again; I will always be afraid because I have love.  We fear losing something because we love it.  We love our friends, families, our world, we love us.  It is okay to be afraid.  Without love we wouldn’t be afraid.  Without fear, we would not fight for us. 

Right now, it feels like wading through concrete, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is bright.  It is so bright that it is blinding.  This bright light is there waiting to illuminate our world again.  We will shine again, oh so brightly!