Looking back through my silver lining pandemic posts from last spring I ponder the take-aways that will seep permanently into our culture. Some will stick, others may not. But as a friend said with much insight, “A seed was sown, a spark was lit.” The possibilities glimpsed will remain in our subconscious, perhaps dormant for a while longer, but not forgotten.
I might surmise that the more philosophical silver linings, like the need for patience (silver lining #14), the merits of simplifying your life (silver lining #10), or the benefits of going deep (silver lining #12), will be gone in a jiffy as people rush to get back to “normal.” At the end of last year, however, we did elect a president who is more in tune with our environmental (silver lining #2) and social challenges. A deeper awareness of the baked-in racism seems to have taken hold, prompted by more shootings, also of Asian-Americans recently, and a growing awareness that we were previously oblivious to racisms and the plight of minorities. The advertising, film and entertainment industry all now show such a greater rainbow of people, and I think that shift will stick.
I still don’t think we achieved an environmental healing crisis (silver lining #9), but the push for cleaner energy sources like electric cars, solar and wind power, is now unstoppable and hurtling forward with remarkable speed.
On the other hand, the pandemic has not become the Great Equalizer. The rich became richer, and industrialized nations hogged vaccines. Did we get the message that the true heroes are those who keep our life glued together (silver lining #7) and not some internet influencer? That a better social safety net, higher minimum wage, more comprehensive health insurance, and education benefit us all? What have the superrich got to lose? A few millions or billions? How much do you really need to live a comfortable life? What about the shift from I to We (silver lining #13)? Philanthropy is not the answer, a more equitable distribution of resources is.
Have people gained greater trust in their bodies and its innate healing abilities instead of relying exclusively on the miracle vaccine (silver lining #11)? We know from a year of Covid research that the Coronavirus thrives in an acidic body environment (too much sugar, starch, meat), hence a healthy diet (silver lining #4), with alkalizing greens and lots of fruits and vegetables in general is the way to go, not only to prevent you from catching Covid-19 but all civilization diseases, from diabetes and heart disease, to inflammation and cancer, to obesity.
We have experienced the limits of online study, work, entertainment and socializing, as novel and practical as it all seemed in the early days. And while it prevented life from coming to a standstill, we have discovered the troubling shortcomings, from students who are behind in their school curriculum, and depressed from lack of interaction with their peers, to the emotional impact of literally losing touch with people (silver lining #6).
What we have learned is that as a civilization we can move mountains if we combine forces in a mutual goal and vision (silver lining #1). That is powerful.