I’ve noticed recently that I am encountering serendipitous situations, or books, or quotes, or… well, any number of things, at just the right time. I’m not saying this well – but I do think that the universe puts what we need at any given moment in front of us – but it is up to us to recognize it, to use it or engage with it or read it or … well, whatever one should do with whatever it is.

I don’t know if serendipity is the right term, but it seems kind of appropriate? This came to mind yesterday when I flew through the last section of “Man’s Search for Meaning”, an unbelievably powerful book that I have somehow never read before.

You know when you’re reading a book and you find yourself wanting to underline or highlight or quote every page?

That. It was that kind of engagement with a book. The kind where you gasp out loud (at least I do!) and say to yourself, yes, THAT.

I’ve tried to find a quote that aligns with this … perspective? this happening? this occurrence? And I can’t come up with one. I can’t come up with a word, either, other than serendipity (as is apparent from this post). But it’s such a powerful force in my life right now that I can’t help but recognize it, and call it out, and really, truly savor it. I don’t know if it’s the forced isolation, or the many changes in our daily lives in the last month, but… well, whatever it is, somehow what I need at any given time is there for the taking, if I only know enough to recognize it.

The best option came from a book I haven’t yet read (but perhaps I should…):

“The right book exactly, at exactly the right time.” ― Robin Sloan, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore  

Going back to another old favorite for comfort in what are unsettling, uncertain times…

per aspera ad astra (~through adversity to the stars)

This has been a favorite quote of mine since I first heard it a year or so ago. It can mean so many things, in so many different contexts, but it seems particularly relevant now.

I didn’t have a great week last week. I was worried about students, about my own health and that of my family members, about my current relationship and the ever spinning question of what to do, and how to move forward, and if that is even the best choice.

Sigh.

It wasn’t a fun week.

Fortunately, things are looking up this week, despite the weather (you have to love the upper Midwest in the “spring”… yesterday we had 34, winds up to 20 mph, and snow showers… just as a reminder, it IS mid-April!). Taking action on many of these things (well, not the relationship one, I’m still struggling with that…) helped a lot.

And this quote, arriving in my inbox on Monday, reminded me that no matter what adversity we face, individually or collectively, we will get through. The stars will shine. Life goes on. Going through adversity, difficult times, challenging periods in our lives? We all have that. But those times pass, and that’s what I was forgetting last week. I was mired in a never ending cycle of negativity.

Fortunately, I made it out of that, and am starting to see the stars again. I hope they are out, or come out soon, for you, too.

Times like these (and, who knew that we would be living in such times?), I tend to turn to the old favorites. And one of mine – actually, I think I read it at our high school graduation as the “benediction” (even though I went to a non-religious very public high school) – is Desiderata.

It begins…

“GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.”

“And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

Like many in the world who are currently reflecting on all they have amid this pandemic, I am also realizing how much I have – how much to be grateful for. (Side note: grammar-wise, I hate ending  sentence with a preposition… lifelong habit, instilled by my English major-and-grammar queen mother… but sometimes it is just necessary!)

This is what I wrote to the grammar queen in an email the other day:

I am so grateful that I have money, can access food, know how to cook it, have stable housing, a car that works, a job that I can do very easily when I’m not in the office, internet service, a functioning washing machine and kitchen, a body that is strong and capable, and on and on and on. Seriously – I am more grateful every day for all that I have. Oh, and people who love me. Awww… 🙂

• I am truly a gym rat. Seriously. I love the gym. I don’t dislike exercising outside, but I vastly prefer working out in a gym. It fits much better with my personality – the need to set up parameters and then meet them on a daily basis. That’s harder when you’re kind of making it up as you go along, while accommodating the end (thank goodness) of winter in the upper Midwest. 
• I am much stronger than I realized. Physically and mentally. While I am low-grade anxious most of the time (mostly related to the ability to find… vegetables, hummus, and salsa… we now know where my priorities lie), I have not devolved to panic. Physically? I’ve been doing new and different workouts and it’s tested my body in ways that I hadn’t tested it in a long time. I always thought I was too wimpy or weak to do many things. Turns out I was wrong. Huh. Imagine that. Ha! 
• I thought I knew how much I detested the “president” of our country. I was wrong. I can’t say that I truly hate him, but… I hate his actions, his disregard for the medical and nursing professionals on the front lines, whom he has refused to help to the greatest extent of his abilities. I hate that he openly questions public health and infectious disease experts. I hate his ignorance, his racist attitudes, and his misogyny. I thought I knew the depths of my dislike… now I realize I had only skimmed the surface. He may be our downfall, unless we all realize what a complete moron he is and don’t follow his “advice” (although we already know that will not happen. 
• I learned that even though I am the world’s introvertiest introvert (is that a phrase?) I still love to connect with people, even briefly, throughout the day. Not being able to see my colleagues and students in person is more difficult than I realized it would be. 
• I learned that life does go on during social distancing, just in different ways. Thank goodness for the internets, for virtual connections in these tumultuous times. Thank goodness that the “president’s” term is almost over. Time passes. Things will eventually improve. Spring will come.