A Time to Reset and Restructure: Thoughts on the Pandemic

Existential concerns and personal meaning-making have long been interests of mine. Such thoughts have especially been at the forefront of my mind lately as it’s been interesting to observe how modern societies around the world are responding to the coronavirus pandemic. I guess there’s nothing quite like a global pandemic and climate crisis to shake things up.

I’ve felt for a while that things have been escalating to an unsustainable place as it seemed as though people were becoming disconnected from the Earth. I’ve likened it to a morning alarm on a workday. It’s like we’ve been saying, “Bed is so comfy. We can stay in a bit longer,” while we keep pressing the “snooze” button.

Except we can’t anymore. The “snooze” button doesn’t work anymore. It’s time to wake up and recognize our dependence on the Earth. As well, we need to recognize our interconnection with each other.

We Are Being Asked to Reset and Restructure

I believe that we are being asked to take a massive reset so that we can restructure society in a life-affirming way. It’s important now that we each take time to tune in to what’s going on and to recalibrate with what is important. What brings you a sense of meaning and purpose? How do your actions impact others?

What Are We Waking Up To?

Keeping this metaphor of waking up, how you answer the above questions will have an effect on what you wake up to. This, in turn, will have an effect on what we collectively wake up to. This pandemic has shown us in some stark and grim ways of how our actions and thoughts impact others. And at the same time, there have been some moving examples of people caring for and supporting others.

I know what kind of community and society I want to contribute to, but I wonder about others. And this brings up a lot of questions for me. What’s the collective demand for societies that recognizes and honors our shared humanity? Do people want to continue living in ways in which domination and exploitation are the norms?

Likewise, what is the role of government in fostering such societies? What is the role of business in supporting and sustaining such societies? I realize that it’s too soon to know the answers to any of these questions.

It’s definitely a strange time to be alive. To keep myself grounded and focused on the big picture, I’ve been spending time in the garden and drumming. It’s been helpful to connect with the earth and to connect with my body through rhythm and movement. What have you been doing? Share your answers in the comments below.