Pandemic Hope

Cabin fever hits us all I guess and so several times a day I try to wander out to the garden at the front of our house where I’m able to sit amongst the plants and find a sense of equilibrium in nature. Over the past few days I’ve noticed something new - company! A near constant stream of people walking, running, or biking past, smiling and yelling hello. 

People are out of their cars, their vehicles parked up except for essential travel and so on our once busy street, road traffic is now a rarity. But with the roads empty the footpaths are getting busier and that makes sense, more people at home means more people wanting to take a break from their government/virus imposed bubble of self isolation. On my street at least, I reckon there are many more people out and about stretching their legs; no doubt grabbing a brief taste of freedom from the strictures of the lockdown.

At our place, we're about five metres or six metres from the footpath separated by a stone fence and a yet that seems to have only enhanced a new sense of intimacy and quality of connection with total strangers. They may be my neighbours but until now I’ve not met or spoken to most of the people going past. But in our splendid isolation, people and I include myself here, are seeking to reaffirm one of our most basic human needs - to know we are not alone. Pre-lockdown you could easily walk down a busy main street in the centre of town and get not a single smile, glance or positive acknowledgement. But here on my local street corner neighbours are reaching out from a distance - wanting, perhaps even needing to connect at a distance. 

As the weeks go by I suspect that our need for connection will deepen. Perhaps, we’ll start to take more notice of the environment around us and the stillness that's invaded the normal hustle and bustle of urban life. Perhaps, we’ll notice a refreshing intake of clean fresh air or the new sounds people are already noticing and talking about - nature the birds and yes even the bees. Perhaps, being out of our cars will help redefine our own sense of separateness and bring us closer to our neighbours.  

Of course we’re fortunate that we have social media to connect, to reassure and spread stories of hope and if there was ever a time for stories of hope it’s now. I do wonder, what It was like in the early hunter gatherer societies where small groups clung together huddled around the reassuring warmth of their fires at night, what kind of stories would they have told? At a time when survival was tenuous and threats ever present, I suspect you would need stories to assuage and calm rampant fear - to rest the nervous system from its alert default of fight or flight. Stories that built endurance and hope, in our modern parlance stories of resilience. As a listener, I think I’d want calming and grounding stories. Certainly cautionary tales around risk, but also tales of courage to instil bravery, redemptive stories to remind me of the best of who we might be, and stories of hope acknowledging that even in the darkest hours things can and do get better. Little surprise that dawn is such a powerful metaphor for hope and renewal.

Our ability to imagine - maybe our greatest blessing and our greatest curse. Personally, I believe that most of us have a choice, about the stories we tell ourselves and each other, we can't control life but we can to an extent control our responses. Narratives shape our lives from a young age, and they have a profound impact on the value and meaning we place on self and the world around us. My Hope is that the covid-19 virus will encourage all us to start focusing on the stories that nourish us; stories of renewal and possibility, stories of kindness and compassion and above all stories of connection. We are one and we can not do this alone even in self isolation.

Finally I’m going to share; some of the stories I’ve noticed from my own eclectic little bunch of friends; there are more so many more...

Barrington on Green (Bog) and my wonderful wife Melanie talking carrots. @barringtononegreen

Flow hot Yoga offering grounding practices for body and mind @FlowHotYog

Father Michael Orzy offering online prayer and mass http://www.chchstmichaels.org.nz/

My Muslim friends https://oneyearon.org/