Like so many of you, the pandemic has left me isolated, for the most part, with my work, my writing, and everyone I hold dear morphed into a digital face and voice.
It's a time where my intense imagination has become a daily superpower that luckily saves me, inspires me to feel happy, beyond the grim realities we face. I don't know how I would be if I did not have this lucky charm.
Sometimes these times are very sad and tragic, yet now, I am amazed and feel sheer joy, by a few events that have lifted me up, shaken me in a good way, and let me appreciate the absolute joy of being alive.
The birth of a new child, named after me! (Lilli)
Last night, though I can't share it yet, equally mind-blowing and life-changing good news from loved ones.
Waking up just now to see the coating of snow on Christmas Eve day, on the cars and sidewalks outside my amazing big windows.
Even work relationships, that are now very rewarding to me because of the dear people I work with every day.
Nowadays, we are a people of differences and divisions, of fierce beliefs that go well beyond debate and often end in violence. It feels like our country and world are teetering on the brink. It feels like the human race is doomed, and our earth is dying too. But we are not passive animals - we have the power to make dramatic changes for the better.
I'm here to tell you human tragedy is nothing new because we human beings are always teetering on the brink! Humans have forever been arguing, struggling, and suffering since we first hit this Earth.
But at the same time, our human race has always experienced those earthquakes of surprising happiness, enlightenment, those little gems, that can be as simple as the bite of a Christmas cookie, the smile of a baby, the leaping embrace of a shaggy dog, or the fantastic news from children who see things in a new way and believe in the power of love.
I'm writing all this to tell you all, no matter what you believe or how crushing your sorrows: Our lives are a pendulum, and if you just wait it out there will be joy, there will be sorrow, there will be boredom, there will be conflict, but most of all there will be our brief yet occasionally brilliant moments, blinking at us like a distant star, often hidden behind dark clouds yet sometimes, when we are lucky, peeking out at us from the clear horizon to say hello.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and keep living with your eyes and heart open.
Diane Lilli