A light at the end of the trouble

A little chaos can go a long way.

And a lot of it can be downright overwhelming.

Think about what’s transpired since the novel coronavirus cast its insidious shadow across the globe.

Fear of an illness with no vaccine and detection that might come too late altered the sense of safety and security most people possessed only a few months ago. Our collective vulnerability has been exposed.

Tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs.

Businesses left, right and center shuttered — or are hanging on for dear life, imperiling millions more whose jobs could be at risk.

You got free money from the government. Now, if that isn’t a sign that the apocalypse is upon us, what is?

Meantime, the abandonment of routine, of what is or at least once was normal — like going out for a drink with your friends or mapping the next great family vacation or watching the Final Four or even a baseball game on TV — has shaken our already disoriented roots to the core. The somewhat mitigating warmth of consistent diversion has abandoned us, leaving us out in the cold.

And if all that weren’t enough, the slaying of George Floyd has led to even greater levels of national tension at a time when our country might not have the emotional wherewithal to deal adequately with it.

Yet we as a nation are facing daunting odds as best we can, perhaps raising awareness toward justice for all, finding strength and hope where we might not have suspected it rested so deep inside.

After emerging from this gauntlet of tribulation, maybe we’ll have more cause to celebrate than we can see at the moment.