Relieved due to a wider dissemination of the covid vaccines more of us are able to move about without wearing a mask.  The danger is not over though, as some countries are struggling with a rising outbreak, and many deaths.  Poor countries remain essentially unvaccinated.  Virologists warn that the virus is mutating as long as it finds enough hosts to keep going. 

Before the pandemic we and other countries in Europe were roiled with political unrest, deep ideological differences between citizens.  It increasingly makes little sense to refer to “the Americans” because it is as if we have become two different societies, living by two disparate principles.  For many of us the world is a place of diverse cultures, of peoples with differing backgrounds and our mission is to learn from one another in order to fashion a better future for future generations.  The opposing society is one that views non-Caucasian citizens as second class, to be deprived of a voice, a say in how society is to allocate resources.  “Climate change” is a liberal delusion, and business-as-usual is the key to prosperity…  There is much within the conservative vision that seems contradictory to me.  But, contradiction has never been an impediment to belief.

Yesterday, for the second day I was able to relax with a cup of dark roast coffee inside the Geneva Starbucks.  I sat in close proximity to several other patrons.  The atmosphere of a public space, safely utilized by patrons, comfortable, permissive of social interaction, felt so right, so normal.  What are we if we are not social beings?  “We” belong to one another.  In the practice of our social dimension, by conversation, by sharing food and drink, we realize that we are, and also “who” we are.  In conversation, the sharing of stories, memories of “what I saw and did” and in the hearing of a complimentary story of scenes and activities, we develop an understanding of what the arc of our life has come to mean.  Meaning is not a given.  Meaning is formed, forged in an exchange of stories.

How are we to withstand the aftershocks of covid?  What about the consequences of the siege of a year and a half of isolation?  We face a continuing challenge of vaccinating the “vaccine resistant” in our own country, the supply chain disruptions caused by “just-in-time manufacturing” and the “run lean” philosophy of major corporations.  We must deal with the political disruption which threatens collective action to slow global warming. 

Our only play, the remaining option certified by reason, is that we double down on our story telling ability, to lean close and listen well to the voice of our fellows, to “lean in” so that we will understand the meaning of our shared life together, to recognize what must be done.

Or so it seems to me.

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I suggest this tune to accompany us on our journey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrCfe3bYUY

Heaven Is A Place On Earth

By Belinda Carlisle

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We’ll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

When the night falls down
I wait for you
And you come around
And the world’s alive
With the sound of kids
On the street outside

When you walk into the room
You pull me close and we start to move
And we’re spinning with the stars above
And you lift me up in a wave of love…

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We’ll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

When I feel alone
I reach for you
And you bring me home
When I’m lost at sea
I hear your voice
And it carries me

In this world we’re just beginning
To understand the miracle of living
Baby I was afraid before
But I’m not afraid anymore

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We’ll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

In this world we’re just beginning
To understand the miracle of living
Baby I was afraid before
But I’m not afraid anymore

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We’ll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

Lyrics composed by Richard Nowels, Ellen Shipley