Will Leitch, writing in his weekly newsletter, had a paragraph that spoke to me directly about this day and age we are living in:

When you are at your darkest moments, when you are exhausted and collapsing and at your wit’s end, remember that continuing to move forward in the midst of all this, continuing to survive and someday tell your story, is courageous. More than anything else, it is strong. Every day is a struggle. But we keep getting up and doing it, regardless. I looked around and saw people fighting their own battles just to get through it. And you know what? Just by picking themselves up and continuing to move forward, they were winning those battles. So am I, I realized. And, dammit: So are you. Be proud of yourself for however you’re handling this. You deserve it. We all do.

Moving forward is the default. We can try and stand still, but the world keeps plodding away second by second into the future.

However, some days I wish I could thrive in the midst of this. I didn’t start making sourdough bread or learn to play the guitar. I didn’t even write more. Still, I’m lucky I have a job, that my family is safe and healthy, that I have food on the table and a warm bed to sleep in. I know I’m one of the blessed who is doing better than so many others. Is it wrong that I wish I’d been doing more?