Flashes of Inspiration Amid the Darkness
Originally published May 3, 2020 in The Providence Journal
When did the news hit you? When was the moment you began to realize that the coronavirus had arrived at our doorstep, that an invisible enemy unlike any we’ve ever encountered was here hiding among us, invading our communities, upending our routines, forcing us to create a new way of living?
I’m trying to remember that moment for me, that precise instant when our new reality made me see and know and feel that there would be no turning back. Like you, I’d been tuned into reports of the illness spreading fast in China, the warnings that it was inevitably heading here. Then came the e-mail from my sister with the weekly list of groceries I pick up for my dad that included a large number of stock-up items for Covid-19. I’ll admit I had to turn to Google to find out what she was talking about. Days later, Covid-19 was dominating headlines and conversations. Still, at least for me, the virus was thousands of miles away. We were okay. We were still okay.
Things started to come down fast, though. The stock market comes to mind. The toilet paper supplies were a close second for reasons I still don’t quite understand. Then came the daily news conferences, the president declaring this, the governor deciding that. Restaurants are closed, pharmacies are open. Hair salons are shuttered but grocery stores are fine as long as you keep your distance. Our kids are suddenly at home, doing their math problems and reading Huckleberry Finn next to our hastily set up home offices.
Just when you need them most, there’s no hand sanitizer, no laundry sanitizer, no disinfectant spray or wipes anywhere to be found. The gym is closed until further notice. The Celtics game is cancelled and so is the entire NBA season. Our typically quiet block now looks like a track on sunny days with all the people out walking and running and biking with their kids and their dogs. But of all of these abrupt changes, the one that got to me the most was as simple as it was unexpected. During an afternoon trip to the market – which, by the way, feels a little like Russian Roulette these days -- I stopped at the coffee station to get my free cup only to find a sign explaining that it had been shut down for our safety. My brain understood. My brain told me this made a lot of sense. My brain said no big deal just finish your shopping. And that’s what I did with a gnawing feeling I couldn’t shake that all good things were coming to an end.
But there have been other signs. I’ve seen them lately. And I realize that I was wrong. The woman who called the radio station to ask where she could donate 45 surgical masks she just happened to have stored in her basement. The restaurant in our town that’s making bag lunches for seniors and others in need for free. The people who are buying gift cards that they won’t be able to use for quite a while to help support our restaurants. The manager of a market who personally did the shopping for a cancer survivor who couldn’t do it for herself. The friend who’s making hundreds of vials of hand sanitizer and giving them out to those who need them. All those serving on the front lines, inspiring us with their sacrifices and selflessness to do our part. The creative businesses that are innovating their products and services at light speed to help us adapt to our new reality. The governor who is updating us every day with the news, bad and good, leading the mission of shared purpose with consistency and the strength and warmth of a mother.
Recently, on an early morning run, I came upon a surprise. There, fashioned into a stone wall along the roadside I found an angel, just the sign I needed. In that moment, I knew that we will overcome this insidious enemy. We will make it through to the other side. For there are wonderful spirits among us who are lifting us up and inspiring us to rise to our best selves just when they’re needed the most.
Perhaps you’re one of them.
