Although it may be hard to believe right now, the time will come when some people will wish they could travel back in time to 2020.
Once folks return to traffic-laden rush-hour freeways, crowded trains and the drone of everyday work away from home, it will be easy to long wistfully for a simpler time of home offices, empty roads and Zoom meetings.
Many of us can’t see that right now.
Nostalgia has its benefits, especially if it reminds us of happy times, but often those happy times were lost in troubles while they were occurring. Allowing that to happen in the present can rob us of the joys that surround us every day. Learning to smell roses can be more than a cliche. It is a habit that blossoms into gratitude and happiness.
In the movie “Midnight in Paris,” the main character, modern-day Gil Pender, discovers a passageway, of sorts, into Paris in the 1920s, where he is surrounded by many of the famous artists and authors of the time. Soon he meets someone there who nostalgically longs for the late 19th century as a happier, more creative time. When Gil finally travels to that age, he meets people who wish they lived in the Renaissance.
It’s a never-ending cycle of people searching for a better time. Gil eventually learns that any age can seem dull in daily living, as people fail to see the greater meaning of the world around them. Longing for a bygone era can be a foolish and blinding endeavor. Finally, he learns to embrace his own time.
The challenge of that embrace, however, is that it includes so much that is unknown. If we could travel back to a favorite era, we would have the advantage of knowing the outcome. Wars are won, depressions lead to a greater sense of community and an appreciation of simpler joys, and the days of Thomas Edison lead to great leaps in innovation and invention for a nation emerging as a national power.
But we would encounter people in those ages who see little other than wars, depressions and a place where the familiar is being pushed aside by that which is new and different.
Experts tell us that true happiness springs from within. It exists independent of any external realities.
Writing for Psychology Today a few years ago, well-being expert Robert Puff asked, “What if I were to tell you that everything you’re looking for, all that you need to live a truly wonderful life filled with peace and joy, you have access to, right here and right now … would you believe me?”
We ask the same question today.
Look around you. Take joy in all that surrounds you right now. Embrace the opportunities to connect with others through video, marvel at those who create works of art despite a pandemic, such as those who electronically assemble musicians from separate corners of the world and combine them into a beautiful symphony. Embrace the little things even the odd and sometimes irritating requirement to wear a mask, which is likely to disappear quickly and remain tied to this era forever.
As children, we innately understood how to enjoy each moment, free from the politics, the worries and myriad other voices telling us this is no time to feel glad. Find children and watch them play. Do not miss the joy that they see.
Yes, 2020 has been challenging. Pandemics are not fun. But we cannot let it define us or this moment. This is not the type of year we expected, but it is the year we are having. Right now, we have no other time period than this in which to find joy.