Are you like me? Are you fed-up of being cooped up? Are you sometimes thinking it would be nice to be able to go to the restaurant and leave the dishes to someone else? Do you long to see your family, your friends without asking for their medical records or probe into their lifestyle? And what about the concerts, the movies, the theatre, the swimming pool, all these millions of little activities that we used to do without thinking? That would be a feast, an absolute over-the-top joy to laugh with a regular audience at a comedy show. We would thank strangers sitting next to us just for being there.
Oh, but, have no fear, it is coming! This January might seem bleak. But a surge, an exuberance of activities is brewing in the tarot cards of the future. We can all feel the perfect glorious storm that will set us all free. Every one now, is waiting for it. In my profession, the musicians are practicing for these upcoming concerts that are not even booked yet. Bands are reforming, playing their familiar repertoire. They rediscover the primal grooves with the instruments perfectly superimposed and the voices, O, the voices! the two, three, four, five human voices piled up in perfect harmony to propel the song to the moon. All together pushing to make beauty again.
It will feel so good to go to the store without a mask, to walk on the street without fearing the closeness of strangers. Soon, we can all sing along together the tune of life.
There will be a surge, a big one. A surge of everything! Probably the biggest one in our lifetime. Don’t miss it! Do something! It will happen once, yes, probably (hopefully) just once in our life. Never before has the need to congregate be ever suppressed because of a disease. Once it’s lifted it will be a tsunami human interactions.
Oh, and, I forgot to mention so many things like traveling. I would love to see my folks in Europe without having to bear a 2 weeks quarantine each way. Traveling and hear someone talk a different language and visit the streets they built a thousand years ago.
Save your energy for now. There is nothing else to do. Chicago winter arms are giving us a cold embrace, going out can be painful when the wind is metallic. So, stuck at home we can practice our instrument and try to keep a positive mood. But I wanted to share this thought to keep your heart warm and your mind clear: 2021 has been stamped by all of humanity before it even came into the calendar and that stamp read one word: hope.