It is so hard to imagine light when it has been dark for so long. What will the skies look like when the storm has finally passed? Who really remembers what it was like to feel free and careless and bouncing under the sun and being met with unbegrudging look of peers? It feels like the world has been cast under a heavy spell of darkness like one we have never seen in our own living experience. It has taken everything we have known and tipped it on its head, suddenly the outside world is an unknown intimidating place filled with fear and the possibility of infection, human relationships suddenly feel like a distant memory as we pass each and every day inside worrying about anything and everything. When the law has changed so that you, a social being, can no longer have physical contact as simple as an embrace with another human being… it is sometimes difficult to imagine what it will feel like when finally we are in a position where meeting and hugging our friends and family is finally a reality. In a way it feels like only yesterday that I was making plans to travel the island meeting with friends and chasing down dreams as they came, and today it feels like I am living in some kind of dystopian fantasy, the streets are empty, the music has been silenced, the love has vanished and everyone lives in fear of reality itself.
There is one thing that keeps my spirits high in these times though and that is Hope. I have hope that once this is over that friends who have not spoken for years will take this as an opportunity to reconnect, and in doing so will feel like a weight has lifted from their shoulders. I have Hope, that when we are freed that all the plans that we had made before being locked away will eventually come true, albeit slightly behind schedule, but nonetheless it is so important to not lose focus of what it is that makes us feel truly happy and fulfilled. I sit and I daydream of the day that the streets are bustling with strangers and that the buildings are shaking and quaking with the sounds of thought in motion, expression, art, music and passion, all the things that have pent up in these times suddenly rushing from mind to wonderful mind in some kind of beautiful explosion.
Before the Renaissance came the Black Death, and I think that this is such a poignant reminder that mankind has made such an astounding recovery from such tragedy before and can do it again. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I am enthralled as to what happens after this madness has passed, when children can dance and play together again, hold hands running through the fields, the adults smiling by the side-lines, silently thankful that things have finally gotten back to some form of normality. With every storm that has ever come, there has been destruction and devastation loss, which for certain individuals will create a dark shadow over their lives for eternity, losing a loved one through these times must cause unimaginable grief. But I feel that in memory of the lives that were lost, the plans that were made, and in turn the stories of success and camaraderie that have come from the darkest times in recent history must all be celebrated in turn.
Once the threat of this invisible killer has dispelled the shackles it has placed upon humanity, it is only honourable to prove that humanity can still thrive no matter what the circumstances. The conditions may be uncertain, and the times may still be intimidating, but I have HOPE that in time the world will become a much clearer, more celebrated, and acceptant place for everyone to live in harmony. Once the clouds have parted I can imagine that the simplest act of kindness will bring smiles that last for weeks to an individual’s face, things taken for granted will be worshipped humbly and from the heart. Most importantly of all, you must remember, that once we have made it through this disaster, that life goes on. This crazy gift of light and uniqueness is still ongoing and ours to claim. It is up to us how we handle ourselves after the damage is done, and personally, I think that it could lead to one of the most beautiful unforeseen outcomes of togetherness and kindness that this planet has ever seen. Kindness to each other, respect for the planet which we live on, and a true appreciation of the blessing which is our life.
