Watching White House press conferences and listening to the news media generates a lot of anxiety.  We all want to know how much, how long, when and by what means our lives will change or stay the same.

It is time to learn the art of living in the present while  realistically wondering about the possible future. It means living with equivocal answers and lots of questions. This is our lives for the indefinite future. Notice I used the word “indefinite.” Learn to use this word.

Because we have an insatiable appetite for answers, prophets appear out of the woodwork to speculate when they are asked to predict. If they sound like they are certain about anything, we should eye them suspiciously.

For the incurably anxious here are a few answers available at 11 a.m. CST., March 23.

1. Within 24 hours.
2. Because he is an educated idiot.
3. Probably not, but don’t give up yet.
4. No.
5. Within a year and a half.

The questions are important, but the answers are not conclusive. Here are the questions in order of their answers.

1. When will Congress pass the economic rescue package? (My reasoning is that the public will tolerate one more day of haggling before they bombard their representatives with threats and insults)
2. Why did Rand Paul get tested for CoVid-19, then go out and mingle with other senators?
3. Will we be able to execute our summer vacation plans?
4. Can we trust the promises the President is making?
5. When will the vaccine be ready?

Questions 1-2 are short term predictions with likely answers. This is where we live and can comfortably anticipate.

Question 3 is a mid-term prediction. We are in the region of possible futures here, so relax until we have more information.

Question 4 is about which prophets to believe: The President, who promises everything and delivers very little or Dr. Anthony Fauci, who never promises, only predicts conditional futures.

Question 5 is a long-term prediction. You promise nothing, but what can be accomplished under the worst possible conditions. So it could be sooner, but not later.

The real message here is “One day at a time” and listen to the modest prophet, not the arrogant prognosticator. We all want our questions answered, but we should be careful whose predictions we trust.  We all want “sooner” rather than “later,” but “later” is probably the safe bet.

But I am not promising anything.