If there was one reminder I needed this week, it is to live with grace.

Our isolation period during Covid-19 can bring cherished moments of happiness, love, connection and warmth, but it can also lead to stress, loneliness, anxiety, grief, pain, resentment, and anger.

All of these emotions are genuine. They are all legitimate. The ones that feel uncomfortable, delicate and scary do not make us inadequate; they make us individuals. After all, we were born to be inconsistent, not perfect. The emotions that awaken and question us to our core grant us to uncover and unveil who we think we are so we may draw closer to whom we’re meant to be. We too often live in the past or the future, disregarding that the most precious gift lies in the present.

Grace is the capacity to empathize and acknowledge the character of ourselves and other people. Grace is the ability to recognize our slipups and inadequacies yet learn from self-compassion experiences in place of self-torture. Grace is the uplifting compliment, a smile to a stranger, and a random act of kindness. Grace is the power to be frightened but not crushed. Grace is the position to rejoice in other people’s achievements and successes without comparing ourselves to them. Grace says yes and respects the fact that we don’t constantly have to know where we are going to start the journey. While grace can incorporate many actions and experiences, it is anchored in forgiveness, acceptance, and love.

There is immense power in grace. During this unprecedented Covid-19 isolation and rare moment in time, let’s re-envision and restructure how we speak to ourselves about ourselves and how we treat others. While we might want to spend the day in the sun, get together in groups over the coming days, remember to cultivate a moment to give ourselves and others the gift of grace. Understand, grace cannot replace a life, be bought or sold, but will legitimize individual emotions. Grace can only be expressed, shared and experienced by how we love and live.

This week, I failed to recognize my shortcomings, live with grace, assume the best intentions in every situation, and continually consider the best in people. Thankfully, today is a new day.

Never stop believing, asking the question ‘Why?’ and being unique.

—Brian Nadon

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