Other working titles for this post were “the great emergence”, “a note to the survivors”, and “covid’s true gift”.

Here we are – approaching the end. We have new light in the form of a vaccine, a new administration, and the beauty of spring’s re-birth around us. The darkness is slowly fading into the distance, finally. So why does it feel so scary? Uncomfortable? Too soon? 

We’re like puppies being born into the blinding light of day, and it’s okay to admit parts of us don’t want “normalcy” to return. We’ve gotten used to the comfort and familiarity of our homes and the consistency of the routines we’ve finally built. A year is a long time, and this past year has been plenty of time to adopt a completely new way of life. We’ve enjoyed seeing our families every day, making coffee in our own kitchens, having the time to cook, read, binge-watch … We’re resistant to change and home is so comfortable. Some days we were stir-crazy and couldn’t wait for quarantine to end, but on others we admitted to ourselves it was really nice. We shifted our mindsets to positivity and saw the bright side vs. wallowing and feeling victimized. We did this to survive, and kudos to us. 

In many ways we’ve all confronted our own demise. We’ve had to legitimately consider what life would be like if we contracted the virus and our days were numbered. As the dust clears on the fear of losing our own lives and the grief of losing loved ones, an unbelievable gift emerges: we’re still here. We’ve all been given a glimpse of a horrifying scenario and have been given a second chance. We’ve been given the chance to see things differently, to put things into perspective, and to adjust accordingly.

So now what? We want pre-2020 back, but not all of it. So what do we change? What do we take with us, and what do we leave behind? After living with the absence of so many things, I suggest we have a very rare opportunity to examine our lives and intentionally decide what gets added back in and what doesn’t. Now is the time to give this some thought.

Here’s an exercise that helped me: find a picture or recall a memory from 2019. Try to look past the memory itself and recall what was causing you stress or frustration in that chapter of life. Be honest about it. Was it a co-worker or boss? A school routine? A difficult family member or friend? Feeling over-booked or over-committed? Stuck in the ping pong of dieting and the gym? Shame for not spending time with family? Or shame for not producing enough?
We have choices here. We’ve likely experienced the peace that comes from the lack of one or two of these things, and to slip back into that frustration would be a waste of an opportunity. This is our chance to set fresh boundaries, prioritize our time differently, and put petty worries into their rightful place. A new life could await us with this chance to re-start.

As we brainstorm this new modified life, let’s also figure out how we will put our gift of existence to good use. At the risk of being dramatic: we survived — when almost 600,000 in our country and over 3 million in the world did not. For their sake, how can we make this life better for everyone? We could argue that by remaining, we have the responsibility to show gratitude for our survival and do something differently; not only in our own lives but to improve our society, community, or the lives around us. Start recycling, volunteer a little, pick up trash when you see it, offer your career services pro-bono a few times, subscribe to donate monthly to the charity of your choice. At the very least just use a reusable coffee mug. (All the plastic *ever* created still exists on the planet andnd more every day. Most of it in our oceans.) 

The pandemic has offered me an absence of stress surrounding my professional workload that I have no intention of re-introducing into my life, and I’m willing to make the sacrifices necessary to cling to this newfound peace. I desperately miss traveling and being on stage, but my life improved dramatically without all the administrative work, planning, and promoting that went into every show. This change will require planning, help, lots of conversations, and firm boundaries, but I’m motivated because I’ve gotten a taste of a life balance that eased so many stresses for me. I’m eager to use that unoccupied time and energy to focus more on future musical dreams, on-going goals to access and serve people, continue my volunteer work, and reduce my carbon footprint. It won’t be hard, I just have to choose to do it. 

Now is truly our chance. It is THE time. Once life returns and we’re swept up in the current, it will be too late. It will be so much harder to reverse those frustrating things than to choose not to reintroduce them. 

Think hard about this. Go forth. And at the very least let your gift of survival shine forth in the form of a few extra smiles at strangers and appreciation for our neighbors alike and different. The virus did not discriminate – we were united in our human fragility. Equal in our possible demise and impending doom, and now equal in our ability to change our lives and the world. 

Love and power, drriifters 💙🌏💨
Diana