I experienced a beautiful afternoon with all six members of my immediate family yesterday. We laughed at, and we repeated, once again, familiar jokes and memories, and we created new ones for the coffers. We relished in each other’s presence, sometimes quietly and comfortably, and at other times, loudly and boisterously. Our familiarity with each other’s quirks and our united love of the family island, which the six of us create, created a cozy, warm womb that kept all of the problems of the world at bay, at least for one, sunny, lovely summer afternoon.
If there is one gift that this coronavirus has given to any of us, is a renewed gratefulness for all that is precious to us. Nothing is taken for granted anymore. Every day, the OCD part of me, instinctively sticks my nose into a jar of a burnt down Diptyque Blissful Amber candle, to make sure I still have my sense of smell, thus in my simple mind, keeping the coronavirus at bay. And as I luxuriate in one of my most favorite scents, I am so utterly grateful for my sense of smell.
We all have a million examples of who we love and what we really enjoy, that is being highlighted and appreciated intensely, in our hearts, these days. Life feels more fragile than ever, and fragility always leads to preciousness. If an experience is suddenly seen as a rare gift, it is in our nature to soak in the experience, with a rapt attention, instead of just going through the motions, rather unconsciously. The coronavirus, when not taking life away, has actually added a vivid consciousness and a focused presence, to so many of our lives. It has given us the golden pen and the holy parchment, to start writing down the long count of our many blessings and memories which we long to keep, because we now know that the experiences and the memories, might be more fleeting than we ever understood before.
