Hope Springs Eternal

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, ‘it is the best of times; it is the worst of times.’  It is certainly a time that most of us have never experienced before.

We are self-isolating, cocooning, hibernating, social distancing, quarantining and many other new and old terms for avoiding social interaction – in person anyway.

My mother mentioned the polio epidemic in the 1940’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when beaches and movie theatres were closed, children were not allowed on buses or in public parks or playgrounds, and school opening was delayed.  Not too dissimilar to what is happening today, but on a grander scale.

That epidemic came and went and this one will too.   It will become something you tell your children, grand-children, and even great grandchildren.

In this time in-between, when we might find ourselves caught up in the numbers and the walls begin to shrink around us, it’s important to ‘always look on the bright side of life’ (I can’t help but think of Monty Python – if you’re running out of current movies to watch, visit or re-visit some of the older ones).

It’s sometimes the small things that lift us up and brighten our days.  The other day I noticed my Christmas cactus was starting to sprout flowers (this was the end of March).  Now it’s in bloom.  It’s the time of year when many flora and fauna start to bloom, but I consider a cactus that is designed to bloom in winter and suddenly sprouts in March a blessing and a sign of hope.  There are more of them all around if you just take a moment to look.

Maybe you haven’t yet noticed, but the air is cleaner around the world with fewer planes, trains and automobiles out and about.  Maybe, deep down, Mother Earth needed a break from us.

We will get through this if we all work together. Too many will die, which is tragic, but many more will live, survive, and thrive.

Keep your distance; it’s only for a while.  Stay in touch via electronic means – everything from the (now) old fashioned telephone to cell phones, Skype, Facetime, Zoom or other voice and video tools; email, social media, and even a hand written post card or letter.

Support local businesses that are open now and will re-open when they can.  Support your local artists, musicians, dancers, actors, sports teams – the big budget acts can already take care of themselves.

Thank the nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals putting their lives on the line each and every day as this event unfolds.

Thank the store clerks, truck drivers, growers, farmers, all those who are also risking their lives to make sure we have food on the table and enough toilet paper in the bathroom (and knock off the hoarding!).

If you plan on donating to charities make sure they are reputable.  Billions of dollars were raised for events like 9/11, most of which never made it to the victims.

Remember that a rainbow can’t happen without rain.

Rainbow

Advertisement