What comes next?

This is a cactus in my neighbor's yard that peaks over the wall of our back patio. Over the 6 years that we've lived in our home, we've seen this cactus grow and change, and finally this year, bloom.

When my daughter and I saw the blossoms last week, we gasped - they were so beautiful! I wanted to take a picture, but had left my phone inside, so instead we simply enjoyed them in that moment, and I figured I would snap a pic later.

The next day, I went back out, iPhone in hand, and, much to my surprise, the flowers had already wilted. They bloomed for less than 24 hours! And in that moment, despite my disappointment in missing the photo op, I was struck by nature's poetic reflection of the nature of life.

It's a reminder of what I would argue is one of the hardest parts of life: impermanence. Change is the only constant. And, even good change is hard.

Change can bring loss and instability at the same time that it brings excitement and possibility.

And all of us are in the midst of a lot of change right now.

In my family, we've been slowly adjusting our lives now that we are fully vaccinated (yay) - seeing more people, planning travel, buying tickets to things, and a big part of me is thrilled and loving the return to so many of the things that we've grieved this past year.

There's also a sense of instability and discomfort. We're adapting to what life looks like now. While we're participating in some of the same activities from life "before," we have changed.

The impact of the past year isn't going to vanish as quickly as the mask mandate. And that's ok. I would even say that it's a good thing.

It’s a reminder that there isn’t any “going back” to how things were things were before the pandemic. I want to be intentional with what we are inviting back into our lives, which will require releasing some things and creating new things. This is true for me on a personal level, and for the MWM Community (and I imagine that it's true for you too!)

So if your feelings about this moment in life are complex and seem paradoxical at times, you aren't alone.

Let's link arms and face it together.