What if this, the current state of things, this virus, this pandemic, is Earth’s way of shutting humankind down for a bit so we can reboot? And presumably come out of this a bit wiser and a bit kinder.
We’re seeing the cracks in our collective facade now: How unchecked capitalism leaves too many people vulnerable, how nationalism isn’t suited to an increasingly connected world. How valuing money over people can end up hurting both the population and the economy. How healthcare is critical and NOT a privilege for a few. How being free requires you to consider how your expression of that freedom affects other people.
And we’re also seeing in real time how the Earth will go on even after we’ve died out from our own thoughtlessness. In just weeks while people have been essentially removed from the equation, the waterways in Venice are clear again, and the air above China has improved dramatically.
I would hope that, whatever your political bent, you would see that going along as we were before this crisis is not a good idea. That something so small could bring the world to its knees should be sobering, and it should point out the need to begin thinking about us, all of us, humans, as the only us. I suspect had we been thinking about the world as us rather than us versus them, we might have been able to get a handle on this before it got to this point.
Please stay safe, my loves. Wash your hands, stop touching your face, use tissues when you sneeze or cough, and stay the fuck home if you are able.
And always, always, always, be kind.
