Hope and Rebuilding

I sit outside on the patio, a mug of steaming cocoa warm in my hands. The sun hasn’t quite arisen from horizon’s cozy bed. It is a between time. Pink streaks of cloud hover overhead against a gray-blue sky, a short-lived flirtation with color before settling into a more sedate white. The air is fresh with the dawn, a breeze patting my cheek as it passes by. A pair of Barred Owls sing their sleepy bedtime song, a questioning duet off in the woods, even as the rooster, who lives up the street, gives voice to his morning triumph. Certainly not night and yet not quite day, it is a time of potential. Hope for the new day and appreciation of what is, fill my heart.  

My home is in a between time too. No longer is it as I knew it. The breaking down phase of noisy machines, ripped up baseboards, flooring, and torn out wall boards is finally over. Now the skeleton of the basement awaits the builders who will create something new out of the destruction. I feel the potential of what will be, not just replicating what was before, but creating something new. I feel an appreciation for the best of what was, and what is to come.
 
It is like this time we live in. Right now, is a between time.
 
No longer is it the world as we knew it; that world has been torn apart. Our belief in our government, our newscasters, our scientists, our health, our safety, has been shaken to the core. The old, patriarchal, top-down structure of government taking care of us like a responsible and knowledgable parent has crumbled before our eyes. The foundations of our belief ripped out.
 
Still, we can appreciate and feel grateful for what right in our world during this time of potential. We have the opportunity to rebuild from the bottom up, from the foundational level of our highest beliefs, creating more of what is right in our world.
 
It has begun. Even with social distancing restrictions, business, store and school closings, people are reaching out, sharing their creativity, offering classes, making connections, enjoying being together digitally if not physically. People are coming together in loving community, sharing appreciation and gratitude for what is most meaningful in their lives.
 
I feel hopeful, like the in-between time just before the full awakening of the new day; like the time awaiting the builders who will reconstruct my home. I feel hopeful for the potential of this, our world, that we as the builders are creating anew.

Photo by Bianca Sbircea-Constantin on Unsplash