As we head back to our classes and offices and homes, nothing feels quite “normal.” Hurricane Sandy brought tragedy to some families, upheaval to others, and a morass of inconvenience to all. Our priorities have been shaken up. That’s a good thing: the people and projects that matter most to us are suddenly revealed with new clarity.
That feeling of seeing the world with new eyes doesn’t last forever. Even after life-changing events, we will find the perspective to discover and enjoy our new normal. And that is a good thing too.
George Eliot said it best, in my favorite novel, Middlemarch:
If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.