As I have tried to deal mentally with the Coronavirus pandemic, I think I have done myself a disservice by setting perceived endpoints. When it first arrived in our country, I hoped it would be under control within a couple weeks. When much of our country shut down, I set the clock for a month or so––thinking the threat would be eliminated when we opened back up. Then I shifted my hope to the onset of summer, crossing my fingers that the warmer weather and our advanced knowledge of the disease would translate to its eradication.

Unfortunately, these checkpoints came and went without a COVID solution. Now I have shifted my sights to the development of a vaccine. Surely, once one has been identified this whole mess will go away, right?

I need to be more realistic in my thinking. I need to stop looking ahead and waiting for the day when we are COVID-free. You see, not only could that be a non-realistic event but even more damning is the notion that by continuing to look ahead I am overlooking the present. It is the whole wishing away your days concept.

The truth of the matter is that even though life is very much different in a pandemic-ridden world, we can still find joy and make a difference. If we are solely waiting on an arbitrary date in the future, we risk wasting the precious time we have been gifted. How can we justify that?

Just like everyone else, I want a return to normalcy. I want to see my brother get married, I want to watch a sporting event live, and I want to go to the grocery store without a mask. But I can’t become so obsessed with seeing these things come to fruition that I neglect the present and sit on my hands. Each day during this pandemic can still be worthwhile as long as we don’t use it as an excuse for inaction. Don’t Blink.