Ripples #1242: Key Moments
Mar 13, 2023
PEBBLE
The ability to learn is a gift, even when pain is your teacher.
-Inky Johnson, shared by Tony in Toledo, OH
BOULDER
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and the pain of it no less than the excitement and the gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace.
-Frederick Buechner, shared by Leslie in Madison, WI
PONDER
It is hard for me to fathom that three years have passed since we collectively stumbled into the Time of Covidia.
It’s disappointing to realize that we still haven’t put it completely behind us, and it’s all been so exhausting and frustrating that I initially hesitated to even mention this milestone today. We’re all so sick and tired of all this sickness and tiredness…gah!
But here’s the deal: I think it’s useful to pause long enough to remember that we’re definitely not in the same state of crisis that we were in March of 2020 or March of 2021, and we’ve opened things up more than where we were in March of 2022 (which was when I gave my first in person presentation in two years). We’re still Marching forward, even if we’re not quite skipping and jumping…yet.
We’ve obviously lost a lot: human lives, of course, but also the time and energy and opportunities we sacrificed while focusing on the pandemic when we might otherwise have been utilizing those resources in school, work, and life. Many of us are still grieving these losses, and we will be for some time.
In addition to all that’s been lost, though, I think it is also true that we’ve learned. A lot. It took us a minute, but we figured out how to minimize the impact of Covid-19, both individually and collectively. Many of us learned how to Zoomy Zoom so we could stay connected even when we were far apart. And the WE GOT THIS! sticker that was born three years ago today on March 13, 2020…well, in those three years we’ve shared over 8,000 stickers with our friends, colleagues, and neighbors…reminding us all that whenever challenges or changes show up in our lives, WE GOT THIS if we can just come together with curious minds, open hearts, and calm spirits while we nurture our health.
My adventures as a keynote speaker and leadership trainer still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, and yet I can still identify the many ways I’ve grown personally and professionally over the past three years. And just like so many other difficult periods in my life: I don’t have to decide whether I’m “glad” it happened or whether it was “worth it” to have endured the trials and tribulations to recognize these have definitely been key moments. And even though I’m still recovering, and still a bit exhausted from it all…I’m still here, and I’m still learning and growing.
I hope you are, too.
Peace,
Paul
