‘This Is How It Is Right Now’
A mantra that is as widely applicable as it is easy to forget
I have a Post-it note on my fridge that reads: “This is how it is right now.”
As mantras go, it’s not exactly awe-inspiring. But it’s hard to find a situation where this statement does not help me to do one of two things: Take action to change the circumstance, or do the (usually harder) work of accepting the circumstance I can’t change.
In situations where I have power to change something, I jump at the chance. I am a problem solver, a solutions-thinker, a believer that with enough will and energy, I can solve anything. I am this way to a fault.
That’s why “this is how it is right now” is so important for me. Most sources of suffering in life are, I’d argue, of the latter variety. In other words, you can’t solve them; the task at hand is to find acceptance. That work is much harder than it sounds.
A few weeks ago, my long Covid symptoms came back after a long summer hiatus. I contracted Covid in January 2021, and had several months afterwards of intermittent chest heaviness and all-around respiratory weirdness. (It generally feels like a gorilla is sitting on your chest. Not pleasant.) From May to September, I assumed my bout with long Covid was over, as I was blessedly symptom-free. So to…
