“We may never pass this way again” is the first line of Seals and Crofts' hit song by the same name. And so very true.
But Seals and Crofts got one word wrong in their lyrics. We “WILL never,” not “MAY never” pass this way again. It’s simply not possible.
Sure, memories, pictures, videos, and stories can evoke past moments, bringing them into the current moment to relive. But time does not travel backwards, at least in any dimension we have yet experienced on Earth.
Only once do we get to infuse any given moment with our own perceptions, embrace and influence that moment with our ideas, and mold it towards our definition of good and right. By stringing those moments together, we create the hours, making days, then years, ultimately shaping and filling our lifetimes. In the best of these moments, we generate gutsy ideas, undertake brave acts, even perpetrate heroic deeds, by playing them out. Immersing our time in living fully, we ultimately achieve the triumph of a life well-spent.
But lately, we are unhinged.
A year into Trump’s second presidency, and this underlying but sturdy belief in our own vigor has been shaken. Since last January 20, dizzying developments within our own borders and without have rocked our role in the world, torpedoed our stability. Agree or disagree with the current administration, we’ve been navigating unprecedented chaos and confusion.
We’re stressed. The world is too uncertain.
But remember, our president, although he has the microphone, is not the only voice of our nation. Albeit a loud one, his is only one of over 350 million voices. Sensationalism may make the headlines, but behind the scenes, there is work to be done. This national gloom is not part of the success formula of our vibrant democracy.
Our nation’s success rides on the crest of our belief that WE determine our future. While acknowledging we may often or even constantly be in flux, we have proven we can grow and change. We may get it wrong, but we can right those wrongs.
We can because we BELIEVE we can. We call it American exceptionalism.
Despite the possible perceptions of the rest of the world, we are still a nation of individuals with individual rights. We are each empowered, as no other citizens at any other time or place have ever been empowered, to affect change. Expressing our opinions, soliciting our representatives, voting for our beliefs, protesting what we think is unjust, practicing our rights.
So, a year into our 47th president’s term, and we’re ready to give up? It’s like trashing our New Year’s resolutions a month into the new year because we’ve missed a week at the gym, binged on office donuts, or neglected to call Aunt Maude even once, much less than our resolution once a week.
Oh, the luxury of resolve… and all those good intentions. But as the proverb warns us, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. A resolution is simply a good intention with a little more bite. It is not enough.
The magic is in the moment of action, and it can begin again at any time. It doesn’t have to be a new year or a new president. It doesn’t have to be preceded by a monumental resolution. Whether it’s our national psyche or our personal one, Nike had the right idea: “Just do it.”
Get back to the gym, avoid that box of doughnuts, call your Aunt Maude.
Pessimism and defeatism will never win the day. Belief in ourselves starts with believing we can. Belief in our country has, at its heart, the same dynamic. Like the storybook “The Little Engine That Could” because he thought he could, so can we.
As quickly and dramatically as the world seems to have changed, it can change again. And it will.
And far too soon, this collection of moments we call our lives will pass… we will not pass this way again.
Never on this side of the grave again, on this side of the river…
Ever while time flows on and on and on, that narrow, noiseless river…
(Christina Rossetti)
And time will flow on, impervious to our wishes. So, while we’re here, why not push forward and push hard? Why not live our lives with verve?
To do the useful thing, to say the courageous thing, to contemplate the beautiful thing; that is enough for one man’s life. (T. S. Eliot)
There are things we simply do not give up on. Topping that list are our children, ourselves, and our country.
Amy Lockard is an Iowa resident who regularly contributes to regional newspapers and periodicals. She is working on the second of a four-book fictional series based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice."
