The Real Way to Find Meaning in an Unplannable Life
Advice from crisis psychologists, intelligence analysts, chronic illness experts, and more
During the first few months of the pandemic, many of us assumed that this was all an inconvenient yet ultimately finite detour from normal life. It’s now clear that this is no detour, but a journey of unknown length most us were never truly prepared for. No one is coming to save us, as Roxane Gay wrote for the New York Times back in May. There are no easy routes out. A safe, effective, widely available vaccine is not on the visible horizon. The political chaos after the U.S. election could well dwarf that which came before it. Nor is the old “normal” a truly safe harbor to steer back to — the fatal flaws in its economic and racial justice systems are more visible to more people the farther we go from that shore.
This phase is not a pause in our lives; it is our lives. Our task is to commit fully to living through this, now, and through whatever lies ahead. It’s not about rescue. It’s not about “going back” to the Before Times. It’s about learning how to thrive in this new reality. And the way we do that is to stop waiting for the moment when things change, and instead identify the resources we already have.
