Here It Comes Folks

This quick recording of my thoughts are nothing more than a record of my thoughts. Today, I am faced with my own thoughts on the rebuild of what we call our society. And here we are, facing a new morning sun. The weather is improving and the northern hemisphere is leaning in, closer to the sun. I like these months ahead of us. However, I admit there are challenges ahead.

There is, of course, the new rebirth of our country, let alone, my City. I am watching this rebirth grow on a daily basis. I‘m not sure what this means or how long this will take, but still, slowly but surely, I’m seeing more life in the City.
I’m seeing more people in the streets. I’m seeing a resurgence of life, so-to-speak, which I hope to see improve more and more on a daily basis. 

Safe to say the past year has been a blur. Safe to say the news reports and the impact of the virus, the fears of infection, the arguments of mask-wearing; to wear a mask, not to wear a mask, to be vaccinated or not. This has been the topics over the last year. This has been a year of political difference and upheaval. This has been a year of contradicting information, riots, protests, racism, segregation, integration and re-segregation. This has been a year of loss. Yet, there are some who have found themselves. There are some who have been able to adhere, to maintain and continue as essential workers as well as to understand the benefits of their endurance.

My goals throughout the year have been based on one plan. Since I cannot build my business, at least I can build my resume.  I can learn, I can educate. I can create an outlet of personal improvement. I could do either of these things or, adversely, I could give in or quit. I could give in to the anxious ideas and the panic-stricken arguments.

To be clear, I see that life is anxious enough. Life itself is tough enough without the influence of outside pressures. It’s tough enough to wake up each day, let your feet hit the floor, wipe our eyes, get moving and then get to work. Life is tough enough without worrying about details like social distancing or if the prick next to me cares about his mask being worn like a chin strap instead of over his mouth and nose.

I have watched businesses close. I’ve seen office spaces with everything on the desk in the exact same position as it was when the world shut down at the start of the pandemic.
I have spoken with doctors and nurses and listened to them detail what they saw. I have listened to nurses talk about both their ability and inability to process the events they’ve witnessed throughout the year.
But worse, I have spoken with morticians about the bodies and how they were dealt with, postmortem, without any goodbyes, no loved ones allowed, and if at all, their final farewells were said through a camera phone. 

The world itself is still a beautiful place. The sunrise and the sunsets, the cloud formations and the evening sky are still beautiful things and yet, they remain this way regardless of the ugliness that exists beneath them. The four seasons, such as winter, spring, summer and fall have not relented or paused nor quit, simply because there was a virus among us. 

No, these things are emotionless. However, we are far from emotionless. The sunset has no memory. Neither does the sunrise. Neither do either of the four seasons. On the other hand, we remember everything. 

The hardest part of any rebuild after tragic times are the emotional details and the aftermath. The post traumatic response, the lack of services and support, and the newly-formed phobias in addition to the old challenges we had before Covid are going to be a factor in this rebuild.
I think it is important to note that situational dilemmas are not always relieved once the situation has improved.  The post-Covid world (if we can call it this) has an uphill battle. I can’t say that I missed the traffic which is starting to build back up again. I can’t say that I miss the mindless pedestrians that pay no attention to anyone else on the streets in NYC. However, I can say that I hope we find a way to put the virus behind us. I want to see shows again. I want to go to concerts again. I want to be able to gather in groups, laugh, celebrate and hug people again.

The warm weather is on it’s way. I suppose I can end my thoughts here but before I go, I have to say that it will be nice to see people’s faces again. I’m looking forward to when we can drop the masks and get back to normal (if there is such a thing).