This Too Shall Pass

This too shall pass.

Sounds like a Biblical phrase but its origins are Persian, popularized by Sufi poets.

It’s been on my mind a lot recently.

Referring to the pandemic, of course. Which feels like it might go on forever. Maybe Omicron is the last, most contagious, least lethal wave. Or maybe it’s just one more wave in the middle of a dozen or more.

But eventually, and I’m guessing sometime in 2022, the pandemic will be over. There will still be Covid, but it won’t be any more lethal or notable than any other infectious disease. And at that point we’ll have to figure out what “normal” looks like.

I’ve left so many activities behind: playing racquetball at the Y, playing tabletop D&D, hosting parties at our house, going to parties, eating indoors at restaurants, seeing movies in the theater.

I don’t think we’re going back to the movies anytime soon — we bought a huge OLED TV and it looks incredible. The San Francisco Y doesn’t have racquetball courts. My D&D friends have dispersed to different cities. Some of my regular weekly activities may now just be part of my past, like DJing at clubs and hosting huge dance parties.

I’m reflecting, not complaining. The pandemic has been gentle to us. We survived getting Covid, and only a few friends have gotten seriously ill. My family relationships and friendships are still strong. We have a roof over our heads and we’re in good financial shape. Mental health could be better but we’re hanging in there.

But it’s strange to think that there’s no going back to the way things were, even when the pandemic ends.

Not entirely, anyway. I’m sure I’ll still play D&D and racquetball again, sometime and somehow. And we’ll go out to the movies once in awhile.

Slowly, a sense of normality will pervade our collective consciousness (unless the United States plunges into civil war or a fascist dictatorship).

This too shall pass.