Photo credit: Andre Hunter on unsplash
There's so much to celebrate and be grateful for here in New Zealand with community transmission of Covid-19 virtually eliminated and social and business life again able to resume.
Of course there's also much to grieve with loss of jobs and incomes, plans and dreams dashed, separation from family and friends overseas and huge uncertainty about what the future holds for us personally and our communities.
The news yesterday of two new cases arriving in New Zealand reminds me of the fragile nature of our border protection and causes anxiety levels to rise again. It is impossible to predict when our borders will be able to re-open or how society might change permanently as a result of the pandemic.
Coronavirus has highlighted the complex and paradoxical nature of life. In our response to the pandemic we are caught between many opposing ideas that pull against each other.
For example:
Global disruption has now grown beyond the Covid crisis with the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the world. They demand change and an end to systemic racism. Covid-19 heralds a time of profound change for the world, which brings another source of tension for us between the desire to hold on to the past and an openness to the inevitability of change.
Of course there's also much to grieve with loss of jobs and incomes, plans and dreams dashed, separation from family and friends overseas and huge uncertainty about what the future holds for us personally and our communities.
The news yesterday of two new cases arriving in New Zealand reminds me of the fragile nature of our border protection and causes anxiety levels to rise again. It is impossible to predict when our borders will be able to re-open or how society might change permanently as a result of the pandemic.
Coronavirus has highlighted the complex and paradoxical nature of life. In our response to the pandemic we are caught between many opposing ideas that pull against each other.
For example:
- personal freedom & personal restrictions
- physical separation & deeper human connection
- selfishness (panic buying) & selflessness and acts of kindness
Global disruption has now grown beyond the Covid crisis with the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the world. They demand change and an end to systemic racism. Covid-19 heralds a time of profound change for the world, which brings another source of tension for us between the desire to hold on to the past and an openness to the inevitability of change.
Corona holds a mirror that reflects our relationship with ourselves, with the Earth, with each other and with the broader systems we live in.
- Marian Brehmer -
- Marian Brehmer -
Our shared pandemic experiences and insights will provide rich material for my next day retreat The Courage Way: How to embrace paradox & transform conflict on Saturday 1 August in Auckland. You can find details of this and other upcoming Circle of Trust events here. Of course, if there's any change due to a second wave of the virus (which, fingers crossed, there won't be), you'll receive a full refund.
What change do you want to see emerge from this crisis?
How will you embody the change you want to see in the world?
What change do you want to see emerge from this crisis?
How will you embody the change you want to see in the world?
Imagine
Imagine with me for a moment –
don’t worry, I’m not saying it’s real.
Imagine, if you can, that there has been
not a calamity, but a great awakening.
Pretend, just for a moment,
that we so loved our threatened earth
that we stopped going on cruises,
limited international flights,
worked on cherishing the places
where we already are.
In this pretty fantasy, everyone who possibly can
stops commuting. Spends the extra time
with their kids or pets or garden.
We have the revelation that everyone
needs health care, sick leave, steady work.
It occurs to us that health care workers
are heroes. Also teachers.
Not to mention artists of all kinds
who teach us resilience and joy.
Imagine, if you will,
that we turned to our neighbours
in mutual aid, trading eggs for milk,
checking on those who are elderly
or alone. Imagine that each of us
felt suddenly called to wonder
In this moment, what does the world
Need from me? What are my gifts?
Yes, I know it’s just a fantasy.
The world would never change
So radically overnight.
But imagine.
Lynn Ungar
Imagine with me for a moment –
don’t worry, I’m not saying it’s real.
Imagine, if you can, that there has been
not a calamity, but a great awakening.
Pretend, just for a moment,
that we so loved our threatened earth
that we stopped going on cruises,
limited international flights,
worked on cherishing the places
where we already are.
In this pretty fantasy, everyone who possibly can
stops commuting. Spends the extra time
with their kids or pets or garden.
We have the revelation that everyone
needs health care, sick leave, steady work.
It occurs to us that health care workers
are heroes. Also teachers.
Not to mention artists of all kinds
who teach us resilience and joy.
Imagine, if you will,
that we turned to our neighbours
in mutual aid, trading eggs for milk,
checking on those who are elderly
or alone. Imagine that each of us
felt suddenly called to wonder
In this moment, what does the world
Need from me? What are my gifts?
Yes, I know it’s just a fantasy.
The world would never change
So radically overnight.
But imagine.
Lynn Ungar
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