PEGI EYERS
Are you, like me, feeling that the mythology of your life is now divided between the eras of pre-Covid-19 and post-Covid 19?
(C) Gemma Schiebe Fine Art
RIGHT NOW – the future is totally uncertain.
RIGHT NOW – let’s be honest, the stress and terror we are experiencing from the total disruption of our daily lives, is worse than the worry about falling ill.
RIGHT NOW – we know that the virus will run its course – some will catch it, others never will; some will die and others recover – these are plain truths we can deal with, and not that difficult to accept.
RIGHT NOW – it is impossible and incredibly hard to know what to say, or do - as most of our usual habits and conversations seem tone-deaf to the reality that is unfolding.
RIGHT NOW – except for those with savings galore, everyone is suffering an economic hit, and the ability to keep a roof over our heads is in jeopardy.
RIGHT NOW – we are being stripped down to the essentials of refuge, food, medicine and other basic needs.
RIGHT NOW – the mobility of our aesthetics, education and pleasures have been stripped away – café culture, dining out, bookstores, pubs, theatre, concerts, browsing in second-hand stores, speciality shops, art galleries, academia, conferences and spiritual gatherings have all closed their doors.
RIGHT NOW - here we are, spending our days in our homes; humble or palatial as they may be.
RIGHT NOW – this is an era we have never experienced before. Covid-19 has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed.
RIGHT NOW – How surreal it is to go for a walk, and think a deadly virus is waiting just around the corner to contaminate our lives, and that the people, places and objects of our desire may carry a deadly contagion.
RIGHT NOW – we are feeling the terror of being a statistic, a member of the Covid-19 case count that doubles or triples every day.
RIGHT NOW – we watch in mounting disbelief as the cognitive dissonance continues; as the majority of us carry on with the same beliefs, opinions, consumer behavior and activities we have always had, thinking the quarantine is just a temporary blip in our lives.
AND YET KNOWING FULL WELL how capitalism is designed, without the intake of daily profits, countless businesses will NEVER rise from the ashes. Not having a miraculous reserve to keep them afloat, many businesses and services in the retail, gastronomic, cultural and entertainment sector will likely collapse after 2-3 months, without money coming in.
WHAT WILL the world look like in 6 months?
ARE THESE OUR NEW WORDS? Austerity. Being alone is good. Social distancing. The new normal. The basics. Online reality. Shelter in place. Ground Down.
AND YET WE HAD SO MUCH TO BEGIN WITH. Are you feeling the irony of living in what seemed to be a time of cultural renaissance, when western civilization is actually collapsing under its own weight? In reality, we have been comfortable with the “sky falling” for decades now. We are already in an era of apocalypse. A civilization that destroys the natural world to live, will destroy itself. Altering the balance of nature by massive deforestation, and the annihilation of natural habitat will unleash viruses like Covid-19 on the world. It’s a given.
SO HOW DO OUR LOVELY modern lives of mobility, fashion, adornment, décor, jet travel, restaurants, café culture, fine living and entertainment fit into “the new normal?” Millions of us work in these industries – how many of them will actually revive post-corona? These pursuits are not negative in themselves, and yet capitalism has enslaved art and creativity, and created a commodification of natural human expression that is competitive, inflated and beyond all natural limits. With the apogee of “economic success” as our ruling principle, we have normalized a hierarchy of celebrity that is akin to the abuser/abused relationship – both toxic to the narcissist “have” and the pre-judged “have-not.”
AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME we need to be thinking - what is truly ESSENTIAL to human life?
Perhaps our new habits of social distancing will change these industries and niches forever.
RIGHT NOW – let’s be honest, the stress and terror we are experiencing from the total disruption of our daily lives, is worse than the worry about falling ill.
RIGHT NOW – we know that the virus will run its course – some will catch it, others never will; some will die and others recover – these are plain truths we can deal with, and not that difficult to accept.
RIGHT NOW – it is impossible and incredibly hard to know what to say, or do - as most of our usual habits and conversations seem tone-deaf to the reality that is unfolding.
RIGHT NOW – except for those with savings galore, everyone is suffering an economic hit, and the ability to keep a roof over our heads is in jeopardy.
RIGHT NOW – we are being stripped down to the essentials of refuge, food, medicine and other basic needs.
RIGHT NOW – the mobility of our aesthetics, education and pleasures have been stripped away – café culture, dining out, bookstores, pubs, theatre, concerts, browsing in second-hand stores, speciality shops, art galleries, academia, conferences and spiritual gatherings have all closed their doors.
RIGHT NOW - here we are, spending our days in our homes; humble or palatial as they may be.
RIGHT NOW – this is an era we have never experienced before. Covid-19 has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed.
RIGHT NOW – How surreal it is to go for a walk, and think a deadly virus is waiting just around the corner to contaminate our lives, and that the people, places and objects of our desire may carry a deadly contagion.
RIGHT NOW – we are feeling the terror of being a statistic, a member of the Covid-19 case count that doubles or triples every day.
RIGHT NOW – we watch in mounting disbelief as the cognitive dissonance continues; as the majority of us carry on with the same beliefs, opinions, consumer behavior and activities we have always had, thinking the quarantine is just a temporary blip in our lives.
AND YET KNOWING FULL WELL how capitalism is designed, without the intake of daily profits, countless businesses will NEVER rise from the ashes. Not having a miraculous reserve to keep them afloat, many businesses and services in the retail, gastronomic, cultural and entertainment sector will likely collapse after 2-3 months, without money coming in.
WHAT WILL the world look like in 6 months?
ARE THESE OUR NEW WORDS? Austerity. Being alone is good. Social distancing. The new normal. The basics. Online reality. Shelter in place. Ground Down.
AND YET WE HAD SO MUCH TO BEGIN WITH. Are you feeling the irony of living in what seemed to be a time of cultural renaissance, when western civilization is actually collapsing under its own weight? In reality, we have been comfortable with the “sky falling” for decades now. We are already in an era of apocalypse. A civilization that destroys the natural world to live, will destroy itself. Altering the balance of nature by massive deforestation, and the annihilation of natural habitat will unleash viruses like Covid-19 on the world. It’s a given.
SO HOW DO OUR LOVELY modern lives of mobility, fashion, adornment, décor, jet travel, restaurants, café culture, fine living and entertainment fit into “the new normal?” Millions of us work in these industries – how many of them will actually revive post-corona? These pursuits are not negative in themselves, and yet capitalism has enslaved art and creativity, and created a commodification of natural human expression that is competitive, inflated and beyond all natural limits. With the apogee of “economic success” as our ruling principle, we have normalized a hierarchy of celebrity that is akin to the abuser/abused relationship – both toxic to the narcissist “have” and the pre-judged “have-not.”
AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME we need to be thinking - what is truly ESSENTIAL to human life?
Perhaps our new habits of social distancing will change these industries and niches forever.
"Isolation" (C) Sam Palmer
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FORWARD? The stress, terror and loss we are feeling is real. And yet, we need to hang tight, keep our spirits up and stay positive~! Isolation has a silver lining, as it offers us the gift of time, and the space to retreat from the world. We can make the most of this opportunity by honing our craft, singing, dancing, laughing, crying, and telling the stories of our lives. And each of us are linked together in community, by virtue of our individual relationship to Covid-19.
THE NATURAL WORLD REMAINS the foundation of all life, and the ancient wisdom of re-wilding and re-landing has not wavered. For the first time in many years, Mother Earth is flourishing from reduced emissions and pollution, and the portal is open wide to animist connections and nature bonding. And as they always have, new initiatives will manifest in tough times as we rise to the challenge, and at some point in the not-too-distant future, the human impulse to experience beauty will bring us back to each other again.
HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE
THE NATURAL WORLD REMAINS the foundation of all life, and the ancient wisdom of re-wilding and re-landing has not wavered. For the first time in many years, Mother Earth is flourishing from reduced emissions and pollution, and the portal is open wide to animist connections and nature bonding. And as they always have, new initiatives will manifest in tough times as we rise to the challenge, and at some point in the not-too-distant future, the human impulse to experience beauty will bring us back to each other again.
HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE
| Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon. |
