It’s Sunday morning.
On a typical Sunday morning, I’m usually drinking a cup of coffee and looking out the window at a beautiful view of the Brooklyn and Verrazano Bridge. There is a certain air of peace as there aren’t many cars driving around on a Sunday morning. Any cars that are out on the road are typically the people gathering to have an early family dinner before the new week starts.
But not this Sunday.
I still drank my cup of coffee—no self-respecting New Yorker can get through the day without one—but a thick fog completely covered my normal morning view to the point where I could barely see beyond my neighbor’s house. The streets were definitely less busy. But rather than feel peaceful at the thought of rest and families gathering, there is an eerie feeling that something is very wrong with our beloved city. The city that never sleeps is suddenly stopped dead in its track by something out of its control.
As I looked out at the curtain of fog, I couldn’t help but think about how it perfectly represents everyone’s current situation right now. Much like the fog has covered my view of Brooklyn, this pandemic has covered many people’s view of their future. There is a large degree of uncertainty that has plagued everybody in the world right now. How long will we be stuck in quarantine? Will schools resume in another month? How will this affect the economy in the long run? When will we have a vaccine readily available?
I’m sure many if not all people reading this post right now have looked up at least one of these questions in their Google search engine within the past two weeks. However, the author herself pleads guilty. Everybody is on edge right now. We’ve become so used to having a plan and places that we can rely on. This virus was a play out of left field that NOBODY saw coming. We’re all worried, and rightfully so. People who are otherwise healthy are dying of a condition that we have no cure for. People are losing their jobs. Day by day, we realize that life as we know it will be forever altered by the events of this year. It’s almost like something out of a movie.
However, in the midst of the fog and the dreary surroundings, I heard birds chirping. There weren’t many, but enough that I was reminded of the beauty that still exists in the midst of all of the chaos. I do believe there is a silver lining in all this. This is not to discount the current pain and challenges that everyone around the world is facing right now. I must admit—I truly believe we will come out of this pandemic stronger than before. Maybe this pandemic will teach us all to be a little kinder to each other and to never take another day for granted. In addition to this, it will also teach us to never underestimate the valuable work each working citizen does to keep our society running. I don’t know when this will all end. But until then, I will actively seek the good in every day and be thankful to live in one of the greatest cities in the world.
Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/rXrMy7mXUEs
