And just when we thought life was a given a never ending treadmill of home to work and back again with no reprieve COVID 19 showed up and slammed the door in our face. No questions asked just shut tight with whatever we might face all alone without our gyms and theaters and courts and spectacular spectaulars. Holy shit peeps, this got real zero to sixty, and somehow we’re all still flying high like trapeze artists. I don’t know about you, but I feel as if I am swinging without a net, just one second to the next, all unchartered, all frightening, all unknown, and yet, we are all doing it with finesse. Huge shout out to my teacher buddies and administrators, the special educators and para educators, and everyone else moving the cogs in the school system round and round and let’s not forget the scores of students sitting alone in their bedrooms or surrounded by family in shared spaces or those homeless kids seeking shelter and still logging in to google hangouts and zooms and youtube or whatever platform they can to stay connected and stay in school and stay sane and yeah still learn. You are all my heroes right now. Class of 2020, you are people we will write poetry about, sing hallelujah for decades about, for you are relinquishing prom and yearbook deadlines and graduations dates and final everything. You are stronger than you think. And we will find a way to hold on. A way to swing through the paces, and make this look effortless. A way to make this all work like magic.

My 21 one year old niece texted, “Part of me hopes it goes back to normal cause otherwise that’d be scary but a bigger part of me is excited and interested to see what happens and hopes it doesn’t go back to normal”. I get it. There is so much that needs to change in this world of ours. There is insane poverty and limitations, decades of racism and social injustice, a corrupt system of governance, and a whole planet teetering on destruction, and yet, there are deep pools of love and hope that fill our dreams and keep us stepping forward. It is here that I choose to dwell, and from what I have seen on social media, y’all are with me on this bend. People are digging deep to keep the dance alive in their living rooms, sharing a digital cocktail hours, their universal meditations, bringing just about everything fabulous right home, and the teachers who are still inspiring their kiddos however they can to believe it is worthwhile to read and write and think through the challenges to make a better tomorrow. Perhaps, we can all take a moment to see where we are in our lives. Have we stepped into our livelihoods in the way we might have imagined? Was there something more we dreamt about when the fireflies illuminated our youthful desirers and we ran barefoot into the late September twilight daring anyone to stop us? Is there a shift that this pandemic is asking you to look inward to find?

Before I rant any more I’ll stop myself and suggest that we all keep ourselves from going off the rails however we can. Find our center. Our breath. Some hope. And create more beauty in our little spaces, like my darling daughter is doing with her paintbrush. (For your own pet’s portrait contact Marnika ) We’ve seen so many people rising up already, with creativity and she is one. This is where we can celebrate. In our own desire to express how we see this world, from within, and with total recognition of what is happening without. Earthly friends relishing the light at a distance from one another for a bit but not forever. Smile. Like diamonds. Shine on.