Saturday, July 25, 2020

A pandemic we had to have

Like the eternal winter in C.S. Lewis classic “The lion, the witch and the wardrobe” we are locked into a never ending hibernation.

In the cosie safety of our homes, we live like beavers, coffee  mug in one hand, iPhone in the other, and a dystopian drama on Netflix.

On the upside, for its survivors Covid-19 gave humanity endless opportunities for reflection.

Suddenly boring suburbia seemed attractive. The local coffee shop, everyday walks in the nature, the clean air, things we had but did not notice much, appeared as healing sanctuaries.



Long spoiled by post-war prosperity, the pandemic tested our evolutionary capacity to deal with sudden ordeals. We unlocked tools in our dusty survival toolkit. We started to cook, sew socks (and masks), and consume less.

We began to appreciate what we have rather than whining on what we don’t.

This was a pandemic we had to have.