I have to assume...
I have to assume all of this craziness, all of this uncertainty, everything we as a world and as a country are experiencing right now is part of a master plan. That these last weeks of my pregnancy and my birth plan have been hijacked for a greater cause.
We have been SO angry, so divided, so disconnected for 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 now. It was a slow build at first, and over the last 5 years it seemed to hit a boiling point. And 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲.
𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘄.
I will never qualify the losses of life with a silver lining. What I will say is that I have to believe this virus and those of us staying inside and staying calm, are causing the world to heal.
People are coming together virtually to move their bodies, to dance, to sing and chant and pray. People are going on walks outside or standing on their balconies to feel the air and the sun in ways they never did before.
People are supporting our first responders, those in the service industry however they can. Are ensuring our children that cannot eat without schools being open do not go hungry. Are pulling animals from shelters to keep them from being euthanized. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀.
Because this affects us all. This has melted away our petty divisions and unjust sense of superiority.
They always say we come together in times of tragedy. But maybe, just maybe, THIS is the time it sticks.
Maybe THIS is the time we don’t go back to our old ways once it’s over. Maybe THIS is the time we stay connected to our communities. Maybe THIS is the time we care for our planet seriously (which in Los Angeles is cleaning itself more than it has in over 2 years.) Maybe THIS is happening at this moment so my son enters a world more like the one I’ve worked so hard everyday to create, that many of us have dreamt of and fought for:
The one where we are kind. Where we give, no matter how little we have. Where we help just to help. Where we smile at strangers, because we aren’t so strange after all. Where the oceans are clean and the air is pure, and we are healthy.
I hope when our doors can be opened again, when we can welcome one another back into our homes, when we can dance together in groups again, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. That we never forget that we, truly, are no different or any better than anyone else. That we never forget how deep our desire was to physically be near one another again. And how we rose up during this time in our history.
I have to assume these hopes of mine, this extraordinarily unprecedented time in the world happening during the most extraordinarily special time in my life: it’s all happening this way because something or someone somewhere got tired of the screaming kettle. Lifted the spout, and decided to pour us all a warm cup of tea.
Gorgeous art by Kimothy Joy