Pondering post-pandemic possibilities

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Even after several weeks of being fully vaccinated, even after the CDC said it was OK to stop wearing a mask every time I see another human being,even though I’ve begun to see faces not on a screen, even after eating “out” and actually sitting “in” a restaurant, even after so many months of monkish isolation, one can be forgiven if they are a little squeamish about believing the worst is over. I still carry a mask in the car and sometimes in my pocket. Sometimes I wear it, out of habit, if not caution. Some say I look good, even better, in a mask.

Nevertheless, even if I’m jumping the gun and we’re in for more of the same, I finally decided it was time for a Top 10 of Post Pandemic Priorities and Promising Possibilities.

Priority 1. We must thank the caregivers. They are man,y and they wear different uniforms. They are in hospitals and nursing homes and grocery stores and warehouses and science labs and schoolrooms and sometimes, right next door. They are all those folks who hold the hands of the dying and give a hand up to the living. Let’s thank them not just with words but with wages.

Priority 2. Socialize. It’s part of our nature. Take a deep breath, rehearse what you want to say, let out your breath and the words will follow. Trust me, you can do it. Even if you have been alone and isolated since March of 2020, language can return, and most people you meet will manage a smile and wait for your words to come. 

Priority 3. Laugh. Don’t do it alone, although that’s better than nothing. Go to the SDSU Theatre production of “The Complete Works” of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Then you can laugh with a bunch of other people. They won’t even care if you laugh when no one else is laughing. They will just think you caught a facial expression they missed. I dare you to attend without laughing. The play is a gargantuan endorphin.  

Priority 4. Hold a pizza party in your backyard. Think of all those people who you are afraid have fallen off the edge of the world and invite them over. I know some folks who make great pizzas in their garage, dough making machine and all. Perhaps they hire out!

Priority 5. If you are a person of faith, go to church. In person is better than Zoom. 

Most will let you social distance, and you don’t have to sing if you worry about virus droplets; just move your lips a little to show you’re paying attention and hold your breath. If you don’t have a faith community, you might try meditating on your privilege and attendant responsibility, as countries all over the globe continue to be ravaged by this deadly disease. 

Promising Possibility 6. It’s not a promise, but it is a possibility that the human community might come out of this pandemic with a greater respect and care for the natural world. Did you know, birth rates are down in Europe, below replacement levels. Birth rates have fallen six consecutive years in the U.S. Maybe we will make room for the rest of God’s good creation instead of devouring it.

Promising Possibility 7. We may open our eyes wider to the world around us and set our sights wider as well. 200 million doses of the vaccine to other countries is a good beginning for our country where 65% of the citizens have been vaccinated. 300 million more next year can help. We now know better how one person can impact millions, for good or ill. 

Promising Possibility 8. Can we set our sights higher? Have we seen enough suffering and death? Has the whole world been awakened to our fundamental connection to each other? Can we moderate our tendency to hate, exclude and make war on our relatives in the human family?

Promising Possibility 9. Appreciation! May all of those little acts people performed during these past months that made life better for each of us, result in deeper appreciation and new found kindness and sense of service in us. 

Promising Possibility 10. Wrigley Field is an icon. It was packed this past week, corner to corner, with freed fans. Fabulous!