It has been a little over a year since we were sent home due to the coronavirus pandemic—the email was sent out on 12 March 2020. For many of us, quarantine was a time to slow down and think about life: what do we value, what do we miss and what do we honestly not care about that we thought we couldn’t go without? It was a time that many people began or went back to hobbies like gardening, painting, home improvement projects and the like.
It was also a time where people thought about what they missed: interacting with people face to face, rather than through a screen; getting the energy rush of walking down the street in a city; or having the experience of sitting in a café and simply watching the people around you.
Quarantine forced us to ask questions about what we truly value, and work/life debates came back much more than in the last few years. And though all of these things are helpful, I want to ask what might seem a slightly metaphysical and abstract question, but one that I think is eminently practical in daily life: Where do you live?
Do you live in the present? It is one thing to say that we live in the present, in light of the past and in hope of the future, but it is quite another to actually do it.
Throughout this pandemic I have heard many people wish for a return to life before the pandemic, and even more people (myself included) wonder if and when life will return to normal again. I think that we have also seen plenty of inspirational posts about what the author (probably a workaholic introvert) has learned or gained during quarantine. Without disparaging any of these reactions, I think that all of them are missing one thing or another.
To those who dream of days gone by, don’t forget that we remember things as better than they actually were. The political issues that came to the forefront in 2020 already existed before the pandemic, and if the virus hadn’t exacerbated those issues something else would have.
To those who dream of a spring where we can leave the house without masks and hand sanitizer, recognize that life will be different then and that there are still sacrifices to be made now.
And, finally, to those who wish we could still live in the monastic seclusion of self-improvement, remember that you are called to be in community and that, contrary to our American ideals, there are greater things than self-improvement.
For all of its pains and problems I think that 2020 truly was a blessing and curse; they are usually the same things after all. For all of the troubles that came out of it, like loss of jobs and heightened political tensions, there are still helpful things that came out of it. Being forced to stop working, especially for workaholic Americans, I think allowed us to see one of our idols more clearly than otherwise would have been possible. And for all of the trouble that the election caused, I have been convinced again that it shows that in many ways we are more Republican or Democrat than we are Christian.
2020 gave us a moment to stop and think in our hectic lives. It has shown us what we should value and what we don’t value enough, but it also showed us what we value too much.
Look to the past, without rose-colored lenses. Look to the future, and far enough ahead that we actually know that all problems will be solved completely, and not just until the next social, political, economic, or health crisis shows up. And live in the present, looking at what God has already done, knowing what he will do, and relying on him today to focus on and emphasize what truly matters.
Photo done by wbng.com.