During this so-called Earth Day I cannot escape reflecting even more about our situation, our place on the planet and the consequences of our past/present/future actions.
Is There Change Already?
There are many photos and videos from people spotting wildlife coming back to cities and lakes/shores and reduced pollution, it is impossible to refute such hard evidence. Have you seen this kind of change? I’d love to read your comments and see your photos/videos from these changes!
The greater questions for me are: Could this last? How long could it stay after we don’t need to #StayAtHome anymore?
Green or Gray?
I am divided between optimistic and sceptical on my way to assess the current situation and its possible outcomes. Both the sad feelings and the strong certainty of a better future fight like cats and dogs in my mind. Some days are heavier and believing mankind can evolve seems a long shot. Thankfully on most days I can sincerely see that we will learn as a species and we will improve. One way or the other…
Squidward’s World: The Pessimistic Approach
It is and will always be easy to look to the bad side of things. I don’t know why we do it but it seems many times natural to embrace the bad news, to blind ourselves with the unhappy forecast and the cloudy days. During these pandemic times that is easier than ever due to the constant bombardment of news that only show the bad side of things and our predisposition to cling to the heavy feelings. I can’t even blame the media, we (that is right, you and me) are the ones who get hypnotized by the broadcast of catastrophes, accidents, videos of people falling or hitting their heads. You wake up and your phone promptly gives you your first shot of heavy news. Switch the TV on and there is already another fix. I fear the Internet of Things will get my refrigerator broadcasting live the latest Coronavirus figures. I know it is important to keep updated and understand the real risks, I just search some balance so I don’t lose my clear judgment.
This overwhelming wave of negative-oriented news adds to our natural fears of the unknown and the result is stress, growing fear, increased uncertainty, stagnation and so much more. In fight or flight times adrenaline kicks in and our natural instincts take over: it is time to survive! That may help understand crazy shopping behaviour and stockpiling months of supplies. It is hard to believe how many crazy stories are there just regarding toilet paper! if you’d like to peek into the darkness of our bad moments there are countless examples again and again)
Selfishness, bad judgment, unpreparedness are the fuel that will keep the crisis rolling longer and further than it should. With our worse fears behind the wheels we can expect to have medical supplies intercepted, borders closed and war between neighbours and friends. Actually there is nothing to expect, all you have to do is watch the news or read your social networks. We got so used to having it easy that we are ready to fail as we face the biggest challenge in generations. We’ve grown used to our comforts, place from where we see suffering and people in need as distant images from remote locations on TV. With our narrow minds, we seem to look into our needs and our survival without noticing that we might kill all around us trying to survive. In this bellybutton-centered view of the world, we will have a tougher and longer crisis ahead of us, oil and gas will cost nothing, toilet paper will be used as the new gold to pay for services and buy canned beans.
If we only think about ourselves, instead of creating opportunities together we will fight for breadcrumbs.
Better Days Ahead: The Optimistic Approach
On one hand, we have the increased perception that the actions of one (yep, that is you!) do impact the whole planet. With this increased awareness of our individual and collective impact, we can better understand what we can and need to change. Many people say that some traditions are hard to change but maybe this crisis shook foundations hard enough to help us notice that without natural resources there is no tradition to keep. How could dolphin fishing ‘tradition’ go on without dolphins?
While I wear this rosy-comfortable-happy hat I take the fairy tale path and imagine that people can notice that some other traditions are nothing but excuses to keep doing what we like and are used to. You can (nit)pick whatever you want from mass consumption and frenzy-buying (Christmas gifts, Black Friday and the likes) to bull-fighting, Tomatina and rodeos. We may argue to exhaustion that people have done this or that since the beginning of times, but cannibalism was also a tradition in some places, wasn’t it? I believe we can change! And I know for a fact that we need to do it. FAST!
Maybe this whole isolation and the work-from-home-or-not-at-all situation will leave marks that are for the better. We might learn that we can live differently, travel less for unneeded in-person meetings, less commute and more home-office. But I’d like to imagine even further and foresee a future in which we would reclaim real proximity to the ones we care, understand and reduce our impact on the environment, live today with what we really need and notice that there are others out there – and by this, I mean helping those who are not so fortunate as we are and also understanding and respecting all kinds of diversity.
Difficult times make us evolve faster. How much have we advanced in the supply chain, communications, remote work, technology, crisis management and much more during a very short time? Unforeseeable solidarity between countries came to rescue the sickest even when their own systems were at risk. New co-workers oceans apart have been tirelessly searching for the new medicine/vaccine to allow us to move on. We have so many examples of health workers who give/gave all to keep us going forward. People are creating countless new links and communities to help the people at risk with all they can, from shopping to taking care of their medication and simply keeping virtual company.
Hope – New World
I know the last hat makes my eyes see flowers but I do believe we can do better than we’ve been doing until this crisis.
There is already good news out there, we just need to see beyond the wall of tragedy that gets rebuilt before us every day. Statistics show trends that are better aligned with our survival, it can be in the form of the reduction of meat consumption, the growth of sustainable energy, initiatives to reduce carbon emission or green companies and ideas popping up more and more frequently.
There are many inspiring examples of people doing so many great things to help others and make a better place out of this tiny blue marble we live in. From older people coming out of retirement to save lives to younger generations investing their time to invent better ways to do things in the future.
More than good examples, there is now the chance and the need for our actions. We need to take these needed changes in our hands and start doing what we can to try to steer us in a better direction. Today! If we wait, who knows what could be the next sign that we must improve? This virus will claim many lives and devastate the economy, but we were still lucky. Imagine it could be a virus as lethal as the Black Plague that could spread as fast and easy as this pesky novel Coronavirus. We must improve and be better prepared.
One
New and brighter days are coming. Lock-down measures are starting to get eased up, life seems ready to glimpse at the chance of a new normal on the horizon.
It doesn’t matter who you are or how insignificant your actions can seem in a vast ocean of poor choices. We need everyONE to walk in the right direction, ONE person, ONE step at a time. Let’s grow and be happier together? What if we started right now?
Do you have suggestions or want to share your ideas? I’d love to read it in the comments or send me a message.
I wish you all a better tomorrow, worse only than the day after that.
