TEVA TALK

 Finding ourselves in a similar spot to where we stood a year ago compels us to pause and take stock. After a full year of masking and quarantines, many people now find themselves repeating the mantra: “But we did this already.” If we shift our focus, however, to carefully examine events as they unfolded, we will discover moments of clarity, when we worked together within our community to make this year a little more manageable and a little less lonely. Taking an honest look at where we stand, we can clearly see that we are not merely “doing this again.” Rather, we have grown since Covid started and learned to stay safe, both physically and emotionally, during continued uncertainty.

The storm has been raging now for a full year, and some days I feel like I can barely keep my head above water. We are living life day-to-day, never knowing what text message we will find in the morning to tell us of another class closed or another name to have in mind in our prayers. Struggling against powerful currents that pull us farther and farther from shore, we search for a bubble of calm that we can use to steady ourselves like an anchor in rough seas.

A distinct memory from my childhood is the many long hours we spent in the car traveling between Connecticut and New York to visit my grandparents. In those days before cell phones, tablets, and other handheld devices – truly the dark ages – there was nothing to do during those long night drives but to...well...sit in the dark. The only entertainment was to look out the window, which, though it may sound dull, was actually magnificent. The sparkling lights of the bridges spanning the vast darkness of water, the other cars and trucks racing to their destinations –  the view was mesmerizing and ever changing. The only constant was the companionship of the moon, which followed me on each journey. I knew I could count on the moon from the minute I left one house to the moment I reached the other.

As the sun’s last rays cast long shadows along the ground, a graceful deer emerges from the forest to graze on tender grass. Moving cautiously away from the shelter of the trees, the white-tailed deer is alert, constantly testing the air for any sounds or smells that signify danger. Shy and skittish, the slightest disturbance in the evening’s calm atmosphere will send her bounding back to the safety of the forest.

Far more valuable to us than any other liquid, water is the most precious substance on this planet. Despite the fact that it is readily available, we should not take for granted the colorless, tasteless fluid that forms the very foundation of life as we know it. While we can survive for weeks without food, and months without socializing in person or having reliable internet access (okay, that last one was tricky with five kids trying to Zoom at the same time), we wouldn't last more than a few days without water.

Change is in the air. The temperature has dropped, children grab their school supplies and hurry out the door in the morning, and most people have established routines that work for them. People deal with difficulties in different ways. During the weeks and then months of quarantine, some people baked bread, others did puzzles, and many finally stopped putting off organizing their closets. (Some individuals were happy to discover bread recipes among their papers and puzzles they had forgotten having bought buried in the bottom of their closets. Organizing does have its rewards.) To the animals, the cooler temperature signals that their lives need some serious adjustments as well. When the canopy of leaves changes from green to gold, the animals, birds, and insects know it’s almost time: Winter is coming, and they have to be prepared to survive.