If only ignorance was enough to keep those we love safe
~ Will Riker, Star Trek Picard.
Like so many others, we are physically self-isolating as much as we are able. We have a business with 36 staff, so this is not an easy task. I am doubling down on my (puts on mum voice) “Wash your hands, boys” and I am namaste-ing every one I meet. I am a big hugger and air-kisser and it’s a new normal for me as it is for everyone.
One thing I am distancing myself from is the damn media. I log onto to ABC (Aust) News every day just to make sure civilisation didn’t end while I was asleep but I am staying away from the TV. I think most of the panic-buying has come from eejits on the TV telling people to go out an stock up.
Ignorance isn’t bliss if your ignorance causes harm to yourself and others. It’s heartbreaking to hear of friends with small children, trying to explain why there’s no food on the shelves of the supermarket.
Turn off the TV and read a book. I’m alternating Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (shudder) with Bill Bryson’s Little Dribbling. If you must watch telly, for goodness sake, watch something funny.
My mum and dad aren’t worried. They grew up during the Second World War. They are shaking their heads at all the idiocy out there, but they know This Too Shall Pass. It always does. The worst of times and the best of times pass and we get on with things. I would like to think that the source of this latest virus, apparently the Chinese hell-hole ‘wet markets’ where animals are kept in dreadful conditions and butchered brutally or even eaten alive, will be closed down. But then I’m no expert. If I had my way, everyone would eat a plant-based diet and animals would be free to live alongside us in peace and harmony, under our care, our dominion if you’re that way inclined, but not to do with as we will.
Calm Down. Some people are getting a bit thingy out there, and then getting more thingy about being told to calm down.
Literally, the only thing we can do right now is calm down.
Everyone knows about self-care and right now we all need a lesson in self-control and self-discipline. We can’t control shit out there, but we can control how we respond to said shit. I’ve been posting some calming stuff on FB (then getting the hell out of Dodge! Phew, what a bin fire that place is!) and today I put up my meditation for the day. (Go to Spotify and search Davidji) I’m hoping at least one person will benefit from it.
I am hoping too that people will use their time for good while they’re ‘stuck at home’. We can only hope. MIT in the US has Open Courseware for anyone to access FREE!! How incredible is that? I might go learn some engineering so I am of some use when we re-build civilisation…
Feature Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash
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