It’s one of my favorite hashtags going right now. It’s the only way to be, to my mind. Not just in a pandemic, but in life as well. In this together. And the corollary is similar: “We’ll get through this together.”

That mentality is so key to happiness, growth, getting better, overcoming adversity, and overall mental well-being. “We’re in this together.” That’s the way we humans are meant to go through life. TOGETHER.

Against adversity, against the odds, against whatever The Giant is: Battle together.

In learning, in sickness, in struggle, in working to get better: IN THIS TOGETHER.

I’ve had some challenges learning (what I call) the finer points of my job — I’ve never done the work before, but was asked to fill in, then stay in. I’ve been at the new gig for a while, But I’m still learning… Still getting better. And that’s the point.

I think my colleagues understand my effort, my intent, my desire to contribute a high-level. And so even with the learning curve, it feels like we’re in this together. That’s the vibe, that’s the undercurrent, that’s…that’s the magic.

The title of this post was going to be “Bent”, because that’s the way I felt earlier today as I waded through spreadsheets.

But I came around to realize that the flip-side of feeling bent, the flip-side of the challenge, is what will carry me through.

We’re in this together. We’ll get through it together.