2. Those of us lucky enough to be able to work from home may find ourselves unable to focus, obsessed by the latest headline, spiraling into morose thoughts, fearful, lonely, numb.
3. All of this we must fight. This is a time for wise concern, not panic. It's a time to build relationships, not lose them. A time to reflect, and learn, and somehow encourage each other to be our better selves, not lapse into bitterness.
4. We probably all need to cultivate new habits, new routines. Daily to-do lists. Regular calls with loved ones. Limits on news-watching/reading. Meditation. Walks (away from the crowds). Careful visits with neighbors and local friends. (Social distancing, not social isolation.)
5. It's a time to reinvent how we do the things that matter most to us. The much maligned Internet offers incredible opportunities to connect us in groups small and large, intermediated only by electrons not water droplets.
6. Most of all, it's a time to re-evaluate our priorities and to practice the beautiful, healing art of #gratitude. Here is a partial list of the things I'm grateful for this morning:
Family
Friends
Colleagues
Shelter....
Family
Friends
Colleagues
Shelter....
7. #gratitude continued...
Electricity
Running Water
The Internet
Health Workers (you are heroes)
Books
Netflix
Facetime
Amazon
Every single person who CAN'T work from home but is out there keeping the wheels of life turning
And, most of all....
Electricity
Running Water
The Internet
Health Workers (you are heroes)
Books
Netflix
Facetime
Amazon
Every single person who CAN'T work from home but is out there keeping the wheels of life turning
And, most of all....
8. Scientific Knowledge.
In past centuries people had no clue why everyone around them was dying. So they couldn't enact countermeasures. They could only recoil from each other. Even a century ago, we knew little of the virus that cost so many lives.
Today it's different.
In past centuries people had no clue why everyone around them was dying. So they couldn't enact countermeasures. They could only recoil from each other. Even a century ago, we knew little of the virus that cost so many lives.
Today it's different.
9. We already understand the main features of this virus. Its infectiousness, how it spreads, how it kills. We know numerous actions we can take to slow it down and to prepare for its growth. And many countries (tragically not all) and many individuals have responded wisely.
10. Those actions are certain to change the trajectory of this pandemic. They already have. The very worst scenarios will not happen. And sometime next year at the latest, we will have a vaccine.
Who knows? It's even possible that this nightmare will remind the world...
Who knows? It's even possible that this nightmare will remind the world...
11. ...just how important it is to pay attention to scientific wisdom. There are, after all, even more dangerous threats on our horizon, with timescales that tragically lie outside normal human reaction times. Perhaps we can persuade ourselves not to be fooled again.
12. But for now, my memo to myself is: Use this moment.
Learn.
Reflect.
Grow.
Love.
And be grateful.
Learn.
Reflect.
Grow.
Love.
And be grateful.
