In her TEDTalk “12 truths I learned from life and writing” (which as of today has over 6.2 million views), writer Anne Lamott says, “…the first and truest thing [I’ve learned] is that all truth is paradox. Life is both a precious unfathomably beautiful gift, and it’s [also] impossible here, on the incarnational side of things … It’s filled simultaneously with heartbreaking sweetness and beauty, desperate poverty, floods and babies and acne and Mozart, all swirled together ….”
https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_lamott_12_truths_i_learned_from_life_and_writing
I was struck by this truth as I — along with hundred of others (over 2000 by the end of the day) – stood in a seemingly-endless-but-slowly-and-surely-moving-line to get my COVID vaccination shot this past Saturday at M&T Stadium (clergy and other essential church personnel fall under the 1c category of eligibility in Maryland).
There we all were … person after person after person after person … some of us bundled up and some of us shivering, following the signs and looking at our cell phones. In the part of the line where I was, there wasn’t a whole lot of talking going on. Perhaps we were all still a bit stunned and in disbelief that we had actually made it, to this point: in line, to get a vaccine!!!
As I watched people and made my way forward, bit by bit by bit, a myriad of thoughts danced through my consciousness, including: How fragile, we humans are, needing protection from this invisible foe! How resilient, we humans are, able to combat this invisible foe!
Mostly, I felt gratitude. Gratitude to all the folks around me, honoring their civic duty to show up and get vaccinated. Gratitude to the army of neon-vested volunteers and staff, officers and “helpers”, clearly visible and on-duty, alongside members of our National Guard, directing traffic; greeting and guiding people; informing folks and answering questions. Gratitude to the healthcare workers, techs and nurses, full of energy and focused on making sure that every person was attended to. Gratitude to all the people I never saw, who put up signs, distributed the Purell bottles, set up tables and chairs, thought through logistics, arranged for the i-Pads for electronic check-in … The list goes on and on and on …
As I was waiting for the “ok” to leave, having gotten my shot, I spoke with one of the nurses who was monitoring all of us in that part of the stadium, for any negative reactions to the vaccine. Her name was Rhonda and she was a traveling nurse from Connecticut, who would be staying and working in Baltimore for the duration of this mass vax effort. As I moved my left arm in big, wide circles, working through the soreness, she told me how glad and excited she was to be in Baltimore here with us, making sure we all got vaccinated and doing her part to end this pandemic, so children can go back to school, grandparents can hug their grandchildren, businesses can open, and life can move forward. After 30 minutes, we wished each other well and waved goodbye, as her colleague spoke on a walkie-talkie, “Another one done and leaving …”
Look what we can accomplish, when we all work together, with God’s help and grace.
Love,
Cristina