Tomorrow is Today
One of my favorite go-to’s in dealing with challenging obstacles is marking time and hunkering down through deal making.
If I could get through the final two years in a new high school with no friends, I can get out and lead my own life.
If I could get through college, I do not have to face the pain and doubt in my heart.
If I work a second job for a couple of years, I can get out of debt and feel less guilty about my situation.
If I defer in family matters, they will see how much I love them, and we will be happier.
If I can put up with my autistic son’s volatility and violence for the next year, we can get him in a better place and our scars will heal.
If I can work through COVID and unemployment by keeping my head down, I can finally start to live again.
Do you see a trend here? This coping mechanism does help one through tough times, but there is a significant cost if used too frequently. By continually pushing back tomorrow to begin living, the day never comes. There is always another crisis, another deal. You can become comfortable riding the storm out in the bunker. By closing yourself off, you don’t have to be vulnerable; you don’t have to risk anything. There’s always another tomorrow just out of reach with our name on it.
Surviving is not living. Avoiding our truth does not solve problems. If we choose to wait long enough, we don’t even know what we want anymore. It’s not just muscles that atrophy from a lack of use. And then one day, the realization (or someone else) hits you in the face that life is not infinite, and time is running out.
We will be discovering and debating how the pandemic has impacted us for years to come. I believe it has changed my life in ways I do not yet completely understand. I pray that I have the strength and courage to acknowledge how I have changed, what I have lost and hopefully, what I have found. It is my sincere hope that we all can find peace in our next chapter, open our doors, and let in the sun again, or for some of us, the first time.