A day in the park.
Masked man greets me.
Smiling eyes.
“Isn’t it wonderful,
all these people in the park!”
Just what I was thinking.
“It almost feels normal.”
I agree.
We’re searching for normal,
not the old normal.
We can’t go back.
A new normal?
What does that look like?
Hand shakes instead of fist bumps?
Hugs all around.
Time with family and friends –
no longer six feet apart.
New signs on empty store fronts.
But that is the old normal.
We’re searching for a new normal –
where oceans are clear of plastic,
solar panels and windmills dot the horizon,
electric stations replace gas pumps,
glaciers have stopped melting,
polar bears still have a home,
air is clear to breathe and water safe to drink.
We’re searching for a new normal –
where children no longer go hungry,
where no one lives on the street,
medical care is available to all,
and college students graduate debt free.
We’re searching for a new normal –
where guns are only used for hunting,
prisons rehabilitate,
restorative justice reduces prison population,
where wars are a distant memory.
We’re searching for a new normal –
where truth is the standard bearer,
fake news a relic of the past,
where honesty is worn as a badge of honor,
where all people are treated with dignity and respect,
where we see each other,
even those we disagree with,
with the eyes of God,
We’re searching for a new normal –
where acts of kindness are a daily occurrence,
positive stories out number negative ones
on the daily news cycle.
where walls have morphed into bridges,
not only on the border,
but in our daily lives,
where government officials reach across the aisle,
egos set aside,
to work for the betterment of all,
We’re searching for a new normal –
where churches are filled on Sunday mornings,
and throughout the week,
their work and message spilling out into the streets,
a renaissance of spirituality,
no matter your tradition.
A new normal, you say?
But how?
It’s up to each one of us,
who keep dreaming,
who have faith that a new normal is possible,
who keep hope alive,
who ground ourselves in love,
and each day, each one of us,
take steps to make it a reality,
for that is the only way
to a new normal.
