“Oh no! It’s a poem titled ‘What’s In The Sack’. Can you guess what it doesn’t answer? What’s in the sack! You had one job!”
— Beatrix, age 12, will judge your poem by the cover too. Even if you are Shel Silverstein.
This Is Not That
A maple tree is not an ash tree. Sure, they are both trees. They may be similar but that does not make them the same.
A motorcycle is not a car. They are both modes of transportation but they are not the same.
Cars are not guns and guns are not cars. While people often will compare how many one harms versus the other, one is designed for transportation and the other for inflicting harm. While cars can harm people by accident or with specific intent, that is a side effect, not its purpose, which is transportation from one point to the next. A gun is designed and built with one specific purpose in mind, to cause damage — to an object, an animal, or even a human being.
I am not you. You are not me. Though we are both human beings, we are unique. We think differently. What works for me may not work for you. Comparing us in anything but broad hazy strokes is foolish.
The United States is not Sweden. What works there is not what works here. In fact, we now know it might not be working very well there.
Covid-19 is not the flu. It is not H1N1. It is not automobile accidents or cancer.
We want this to be like that. Because if there’s an answer to that it might be an answer to this. But things are what they are.
In the case of a virus that has brought the world to a halt, we long so much for a solution that we seek similarities. I get it. How we learn is from the lessons gained from that which we’ve encountered before. But, here’s the problem…
This is “novel”. We’ve not encountered this before. Just because we did this for that it does not mean we can do that for this.
We have to gain fresh knowledge about this. We have to learn and adapt as we go. Comparing this to anything else risks leading us down the wrong path. Now is the time to forge new paths. This is new. This is not that.
“All of the desires of this world are like rays of light. – You try to catch them in your hand only to find there is nothing in your grasp.”
– Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
This morning’s work. Preparing a Lentil and Vegetable Stew in the crock pot.
Embracing Uncertainty
In the midst of this time of great uncertainty, I’ve stumbled upon an observation: Those who are dealing the least well with the uncertainty are those who refuse to accept it.
Those that want to know how long the schools will be closed. Those that want a hard plan for when and how to re-open businesses. Those that want to know, exactly, when things will get back to normal.
These are the people that are suffering the most during these times. These are the folks I see being frustrated and angry. These are the folks flailing about trying to figure out what to do. Because they are seeking and hoping for answers which are, at this point or any point in the foreseeable future, impossible to accurately give.
Those that have worked to become comfortable with uncertainty — the peace that can come from not knowing — are the ones that I see doing the best with the current circumstances. They are perfectly OK with accepting and working with each day as it comes. As new information about how to proceed arises, they proceed. If not, they make the best of where they are. If we accept uncertainty instead, we can take that energy and focus on what we can do. We can appreciate what opportunities we do have. We can make do.
Therefore, it has occurred to me that the problem is not the uncertainty. The problem is in working against the uncertainty. Of wishing and hoping and demanding that which is impossible to gain. By setting a date you’d like to re-open only to have your Governor move the date of the stay at home order back. Wanting school to be back in session by the end of April only to receive an announcement that they expect to be closed for the rest of the year. In fact, uncertainty only causes worry and anxiety when we wish/work/want against it.
When we accept things the way they are, when we embrace not knowing, only then can we make do with the way things are. Only then can we do the best we can with the situation we’re in. If you are stuck at home on a beautiful day, wishing you could be somewhere else will only make things worse. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, focus on what you can.
This is not the time for dates and plans beyond the here and now. This is the time for taking the here and now and making something of it. If you need something to look forward to, look forward to the possibility that you might, maybe, have the same opportunity tomorrow. Maybe not. You don’t know. We never do. Isn’t that amazing? I think so.
A Week at the Pandemic’s Epicenter – The New York Times
Beautifully photographed, frightening, and sobering.
My wife puts forth her current “mores” (i.e. things we should be doing more of). A favorite regarding dates…
“There’s no one magic date. And the sooner we all get used to that uncertainty, the better off we will be at really getting on with today and preparing for tomorrow.”
Skill I’m working on in these mask wearing times:
Smiling with my eyes.
There is no reward – rebeccatoh.co
“There might be no reward from the outside world, but there is already a reward, in and of itself, in the act of doing the work we are called to do.”
Despite the fact that I have a clock on my phone in my pocket, my desk, various rooms in the house, and the computer I’m at more and more these days, if I’m not wearing a watch it takes me a few moments of utter confusion before I’m able to find a way to know what time it is.