Moments. They Don’t Last Forever.

Are moments the antidote to the seemingly never-ending pandemic?

For those of us in the US who were not directly hit by death or illness related to COVID-19, the last four months have been an exercise in waiting. States across America — and most countries the world over — began sheltering-in-place in the spring with the hope that the worst would be over by the summer.

We began baking bread and binge watching all those shows we never had time to watch pre-pandemic. We discovered that Zoom calls with family and friends could go on for hours and our inner minimalist finally found the time to declutter.

In short, we discovered creative ways to cope. After all, this was temporary, right? As days and weeks went by, the novelty wore off.

Baking bread got boring and the more streaming services there were, the more challenging it became to find something to watch. Zoom fatigue set in and we could see the back of our closet, all our closets.

In my recent observation, a low-grade depression has set in for many, individually and at the collective level. We know that we should be grateful to be safe and alive, but the uncertainty is killing us. How long can we keep up the ruse? Surely we can’t go on like this forever. But it feels like forever.

The thing is, nothing last forever, even when there is no end in sight. Ask someone like me, who has dealt with fluctuating vision since age 9 and a myriad of health issues for decades. So you make a decision — a decision to focus on the good and roll with the bad.

When you do this, each moment is grounded in the present, rather than simply being a connector to an anticipated future time. Inevitably and miraculously, the good outshines the bad and beams of joy are within reach.

I don’t have all the answers or some kind of magic formula. I certainly get just as frustrated, depressed and angry as the next person. But it only lasts for a moment, because nothing lasts forever. And in times like these, that’s a good thing.

P.S. Music is a way to add a dash of feeling to any moment. So I leave you with Whitney, whose song served as inspiration for what I’ve written today.