A Space to Acknowledge

It has been a year since COVID was declared a global pandemic. The day before, on March 10, 2020, I wrote this:

Covid-19 has made its way to Larimer County, Colorado. We’re north of Denver, and close to the Wyoming border. My anxiety over this is mild, but there. Like any vigilant Mama who wants to keep her family healthy, I’m doing what I can to keep us safe. But what has struck me is the interconnectedness of us all. This virus originated in Wuhan City, China. That’s over 6,886 miles away. And yet, it is here. Right here where I live. I am humbled by this powerful lesson. Connections. Our actions do matter. Our lives are so much bigger than we realize. Sending love and light to you all.

Fast forward to today. We’ve lost over 530,000 US citizens. That number is quite unfathomable. I pause and let the sorrow wash over me…

Listening to President Biden during his address last night, I was so very grateful that he acknowledged the pain that we’ve all felt, that we’ve all been going through. Thank you for acknowledging the fear and for giving it a name!

Thank you. You created a space to acknowledge. Trump never did. He never created that healing space for us to collectively embody.

I watched the sun rise this morning. It wasn’t brilliant, just gray sky emerging from darkness. We are expecting a big storm this weekend, so hues are muted in anticipation of the snow.

But even in the storm, the sun rises. Even in the cold, the birds sing.

I acknowledge this space of sorrow and grab onto the gratitude of connections. I let the song of the Chickadee wash over me, and still feel the warm of a hidden sun.

Those of us still here are grateful.

I feel the loss and decide to move anyway. Dear ones, although you are no longer walking on this earth, you live inside of us all. Connected to you, I breathe in your legacy and your stories.

You are not forgotten. You are not invisible.

I will not forget the lesson of this pandemic: we are connected, we grieve, we cry, and we laugh. Big belly laughs that you once knew as well.

Thank you. I honor you. I am humbled by you.

I turn towards the gray sky and let the light wash over me…