When will the Pandemic end?
It’s a question we all have right now: when will the pandemic end? Will COVID-19 ever finally leave us?
And if it DOES end, will - and when?! - will life ever return ‘back to normal’?
I don’t have the answers to these questions, and to be honest, no amount of scientific or mathematical predictions can ever get the answers 100% correct. This pandemic has changed so much about what we know about medicine, about life, about one another, etc.
The pandemic has changed much of our routines, ranging from how and where we work, with whom and how we socialize, how we spend our money, our hobbies and habits, etc. For some, this has meant a shift in work location, a change in income, new decisions around career choices, variations in how we spend our free time, and more.
For others, the pandemic has meant dealing with feelings of uncertainty, fatigue, stress, loneliness, and loss. Actually, many of us can resonate with at least one of those emotions in that sentence. The pandemic has certainly made us realize how much we took for granted before. Simple activities such as going to the grocery store are now much less frequent. Attending large gatherings are a definitive ‘no’. Wearing a mask is as common to human nature as getting ready for work.
Ah, yet more uncertainty!
Remember the concept of locus of control? You can only control certain things in your life. When the pandemic will end is, sadly, not one of them. But, you can your part to help stop the spread of the virus: get vaccinated, wear your masks, wash your hands, watch your distance, etc. You can encourage your friends and family members to do the same. You can mourn your losses, but also count the blessings that the pandemic has highlighted to you.
Maybe the pandemic will end soon - but then the question will be, ‘when (or will) things go back to normal’?. And yet again, no one has the answer for this either.
Uncertainty again! Locus of control again!
Let us, instead, focus on stopping the spread of the pandemic, and enjoying our lives as much as we can during this present moment. Thinking to the past (how things were) or to the future (what will things be like?) is not going to help change things. Nor will it allow you to enjoy the present moment, or be mindful in it.
Live for now. Yes, we are in the midst of a pandemic that seems to have come out of nowhere. Yes, we don’t quite see an end in sight.
But that doesn’t mean you cannot choose to live mindfully today. In fact, the more you decide today that you will live according to your values, that you will do what you can to stop the spread of the virus, and the more you will be grateful and mindful of how you spend your days…the easier the uncertainty will be to accept.
Don’t live today mourning the losses, or imagining what tomorrow will bring. Instead, take note of where you are today, and live for today. Make goals for the future - but keep your focus on what today holds.
I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow.
And I trust that it will according to His wonderful plan for you and I.
