Wednesday Wisdom – Life in the Time of COVID-19

There is no definitive estimate of the length, breadth and timeline of the current situation across the globe. New information spills out into the world every day, numerous times a day, about the COVID-19 virus that has changed life as we know it.

We are being required to adapt, constantly. Many ‘new’ ways of conducting business have evolved and continue to do so. At the cornerstone of these movements, is a society that has stepped up to share ideas and offer affirmations, illustrating and confirming the reality of our inter-connectedness.

Suddenly, virtually overnight, the importance of pulling together has taken on an almost unprecedented powerful meaning.

If ever Mother Nature took it upon herself to teach humanity a few lessons about who is really in control, the time is now.

Whilst medicine and science work hard and at speed to discover successful methods via which to ‘beat the bug’, nature and God are very much in charge.  For some this is not a new concept.  For others however, it is a stark reminder of our limited ability to control the future.  For all, it is a reminder of what happens when we forget to listen, fail to pay attention and charge ahead in hungry anticipation of the benefits of doing whatever we like, entirely on our own terms.

Although floods, fires, swarms of locusts, famine and drought have all gone before in Mother Nature’s repeated attempts to capture our attention, too many have continued to look the other way.

There is no longer any ‘other way,’ there is no way around, except through this nightmare, together; working alongside one another and making permanent changes to how we choose to shape our lives, both during the storm – and  after it has passed.

Life in the time of COVID-19 calls for the writing of a new code, for news systems via which we engage with the world, on just about every level. We are being asked to look beyond our immediate and personal survival – towards our shared and sustainable survival moving forward.

I heard a family member say today how much she will value ‘popping out’ for coffee when this is all over.  Something so simple, but perhaps previously taken for granted.

An activity that will be enjoyed in the future with a mindful heart, soul and awareness, with recognition and appreciation of the earth in which the beans grew; the hands that tended them; the skill of those who roasted and blended the flavour and the effort of the men and women who transported, made and delivered the cappuccino previously so carelessly picked up in the daily rush.

There is nothing more important than the inter-connectedness that forms our natural and most basic code, the structure within each one of us and within every aspect of our earth.

It seems that – at last – Mother Nature has our fullest attention.

EBH