Like many people in my home country of the United States and in other places around the world, I am feeling the strain of what has - in so many ways - been an unprecedented and uncertain year.
It’s hard to continually be exposed to news that is heartbreaking and anger-inducing without finding a little part of yourself sinking into that feeling of helplessness and despair.
And despite all this, the other day, I danced. I danced and I laughed and I felt the grass between my toes. I thought about how we learn to hold these opposing emotions in the same hand. I thought about what it meant to grieve through light.
I was reading the New York Times over a mug of peppermint tea one morning, feeling a wave of frustration. But then I thought of something else. I could still dance.
It was a flipped switch.
The world might feel topsy turvy, but someone is falling in love right now.
Someone is falling in love with the way their partner’s forehead crinkles when they laugh. Someone is diving for the phone when a particular caller ID shows up on the screen. Someone is falling asleep filled with gratitude and hope that in the midst of chaos, beauty can be born.
Somewhere, a young couple just welcomed their first child into the world. The baby and the mother are both healthy and the family is thrilled. They’re taking the baby home to the nursery they spent months preparing. Each day, they receive texts and calls of congratulations from their loved ones, near and far.
Right now, a quarantine-baker just perfected a new favorite dessert. Years into the future when they bring this to a holiday party, they’ll laugh about how the first time they made this recipe, they forgot the sugar. They’ll smile at those roommates from a lifetime ago and how they pretended it was the best dessert they’d ever had. It will be a happy “remember when?”
There’s a child learning to juggle. A dog has been adopted from a shelter. A couple just became grandparents for the first time. A writer typed “The End” on their manuscript. A runner set a personal record. An artist is discovering a new medium. It is someone’s 1st birthday. It is someone’s 101st birthday.
You might be hurting. The world might feel scary. But hold on just a bit longer. It’s not all bad. Because right now, someone is falling in love.
Love always,
Liz
