How Are You Feeling About the ‘New Normal’?

Years from now, when all of this is over, if someone asks me what this time – the new normal – was like, I already know what my answer will be.

I remember the sirens.

Morning, afternoon, late at night.

Sirens were the unrelenting sound that punctured the otherwise strange silence of the city, my city, that never sleeps.

And then?

The masks. Medical grade, surgical, cotton, colorful fabrics, N95s, designer-made, and homemade. Mostly worn, others discarded in the street. Run over by cars, stepped on by people. (Those brave enough to venture out.)

And the daily press conferences by Governor Cuomo. Our bulwark against the storm. Not just for us New Yorkers, but for many in the nation, and the world, who just wanted the numbers and the facts. No sugar coating of things in this new normal. No lying or twisting of words. And no disputing of science.

What will it be for you? What will you remember?

The beginning of the lockdown?

The run on toilet paper?

Homemade sanitizer?

Grocery shopping while wearing a mask and gloves?

Wondering if a trip to the pharmacy is a life or death proposition?

Losing your job?

Or worse, getting sick?

Or the worst of all, saying goodbye to a loved one?

How Did We Get Here and Where Do We Go Next?

There is nothing normal about this ‘new normal’.

And it’s almost laughable – if we weren’t currently going through this – that such a tiny, microscopic thing, could wreak so much havoc on the world.

For some of us, life has irrevocably changed. For others, the luckier ones, it’s navigating life now that we are mostly trapped at home.  And for all of us, it’s living with the collective feeling of general anxiety that permeates the air.

How do we find a routine in this new phase of life? How do we find comfort in this new normal?

Wherever you are right now, it’s okay. Whatever you’re feeling, feel it. Whatever you’re thinking, think it. Don’t beat yourself up. And throw your expectations out the window.

We can’t be expected to have all the answers right away. (Even a vaccine will take months to find.)

So what can we do?

How about we just live? In the day-to-day? In the moment?

Forget your long term plans. Stop stressing about the distant future. Anyway, how is it possible to plan for the future when each day brings so much uncertainty and change?

No. Now is not the time to plan. Now is the time for now. Be in the present.

I liken it to a surfer, bobbing up and down in the water, waiting for the next wave to come. And then, riding that wave, whatever it brings. This is how I’m living life right now.

And yet.

We are human. We dream. We hope. We create. We cultivate. And we build.

So if I’m thinking about anything right now that relates to the future, it’s about how this dormant period has the potential to lead to a period of growth and discovery. And a new way of life.

I mourn the things we are losing. I mourn my life in the past. But I’m also ready to embrace a new future. One that runs on love and community more than cash and status. A world that lives in harmony rather than chaos and distrust.

But more than anything, I’m here, in this moment and this new normal. And I’m open to the lessons this pandemic will teach me.

We all know change is inevitable. It’s the one constant in life. But if there’s one thing we can control, it’s how we react to change.

Related: Attitude is Everything

Like a surfer, I’m grabbing my board and paddling out to that break. But I’m not looking out at the great expanse of the sea, all the way to the horizon. Instead, I’m closing my eyes and holding my face up to the sun, feeling the power of its light and warmth. Trusting that something bigger than me is at play here, and knowing that where I am right now, is the best place to be, and the only place to be. Because that place is now.

I keep saying the following because I believe it and in my heart I know it’s true.

We’re in this together and we’ll get through this together.

And I can’t wait to see how things unfold when we get to the other side.