Metaphors are useful, no?
I've been hung up on the idea of "activation energy." Unfortunately, I can't take credit for this concept—that's owed to people much smarter and more dedicated than I. It's the property of chemistry that dictates a certain amount of energy is necessary for a given reaction to occur. Images fill the mind: that demonstration from science class in middle school where the teacher supercools a bottle of water, and with just a tap of their finger the entire liquid freezes in real time before your eyes, a quick touch of kinetic energy chain-reacting all the way through until it's completely solid. Another, maybe more familiar to those native to colder climes than myself: hand warmers, that with just a quick shake or squeeze of a small pouch provide your hands warmth and respite from the cold for hours. I've noticed moments recently of feeling in this precipitous state, where the lightest tap, the wrong nudge, could kickstart a chain reaction. It's likely a byproduct of growing accustomed to such constant uncertainty, to not having answers for others or ourselves. To striving for new hopes, new imaginings, making new best-laid plans, only for them to do as they so often do: go awry.
As we continue keeping calm and carrying on in this formerly-known-as "Unprecedented Moment," I'm reminded still, even mid-winter and in the throes of this seasonally affective nonsense, that the metaphor can easily be flipped. There are mornings I wake up not from the steady buzzing of an alarm thrice snoozed, but the light touch of sunlight peaking just right through the blinds across my eyes. There are those birds perched outside my window that know just when I'm feeling alone, completely alone, to chirp and sing and flutter around casting little dancing shadows that invite my music be played louder. There are random texts from friends at just the right time, sharing a funny video they saw or "Can you believe I heard this?" or knowing exactly how you're feeling right now, and that it's okay, because they feel it too. And that's all you needed to hear.