As we slowly emerge from lockdown, I wonder, what have we learnt? Are we taking a moment to let the enormity of what’s just happened to us, sink in? Are we taking stock of the impact it has had on our bodies, minds and souls? Or our money? Have we taken a moment to express gratitude for simply making it through?
Our son contracted COVID during the last month. It wasn’t a natural conclusion that he would recover because of pre-existing conditions. Thankfully, he recovered remarkably quickly.
In biblical times, people would celebrate with a thanksgiving feast, an altar or at least a heap of stones as remembrance. Throughout history people have written down their stories of pursuits and battles in songs and poems to pass onto their children around campfires.
But it’s about more than just writing it down, it’s also about the reflection and the learning. It’s about honouring the enormity of what’s happened to us and the ways we changed and still need to change. Perhaps, we need to remember how little we needed to live on, how afraid we were for ourselves and our country, how wonderful it was to have family time without live sport interfering or how our investments recovered rapidly. Perhaps we need to remember the pictures of wild animals returning to deserted beaches or skies without pollution. Perhaps we should remember our intentions of giving hugs or visiting our families because we couldn’t do it for a while. And then, we should take those reflections, make our changes and act on our intentions.
How have we marked this time? What have we learnt and what are we doing?
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