Episode 05: Blessings

The past few years have been…let’s just say wild. Unexpected. Challenging. Uncertain. Painful. Unstable. Uneasy. Scary. Unprecedented. As a collective society, the past few years tested us in ways we couldn’t quite imagine, until it became our reality. People navigated huge life milestones amidst disconnection, uncertainty, and fear. People navigated daily life riddled with disconnection, uncertainty, and fear.

The way things were became a thing of the past. We were tested. Pushed. To points and places we’d never been before. New lows. Our mental health and well-being stretched. Battered even. Each person with their own unique story, bruises, scars, lessons, what have you. It’s actually still quite hard to comprehend.

And now, we all sit here, on the 3 year “anniversary” of “the beginning”, when everything changed, disrupted with little to no warning. Devastation of varying sizes and magnitudes. Humbling for so many of us.

It is also true though, what people say. The pain, sorrow, grief, isolation, struggle paves the way for a new type of hope. Strength. Connection. Love. Vigor for life.

If getting married in this time taught me anything, it’s that loss does create life, something new, something unexpected. And, there are things, moments, experiences, that will never come to fruition in the way you dreamed, hoped, imagined. A true test in finding peace, mending the frayed fabric, and seeing the patchwork as a part of what makes it beautiful.

I still feel deep sadness when I think about the things that will always only be a figment of my imagination. And I also feel a deep and reverberating sense of gratitude for the depths of my mind and heart I was pushed to discover in reimagining a new and different way.

Whether it was getting married, having a baby, graduating, losing a loved one, starting something new, losing a job, or just trying to make it through each day, we were all tested, battle tested. Emerging bruised, scarred, changed. All at different stages, paces, and parts of the process.

What I hope though, is that we all take time to honor what was, what was lost, what was changed, and what was found, renewed, discovered. That we feel a deeper sense of connection to ourselves and each other, and a renewed appreciation for the things that bring joy and for what is really important.

To me, that is all of you. This world.

You all create and are the blessings that make this life worth living. This wild wild world. It’s precious, amidst its challenges, tribulations, and anguish.

For whatever you experienced during the past few years. I see you. I’m with you.

Know that you are cherished. More than you know.