In time of crisis it's normal to react with fear and anxiety. The current situation is unprecedented, it's depriving us of human contact, it's letting us fear others. We are all in full survival mode, stockpiling things that just now we realise being finite, when in reality they always were, but we seemed not to care.
It looks like the world is coming to an end and probably it is, but not like in these Armageddon movies. It surely is the end of the world as we know it and as we experienced it to be, but that doesn't mean that it has to be worst than before. In time of crisis, the shock to the system is so big that we have the chance of changing that system in ways that we thought couldn't be possible.
What if we all started to find new ways to reimagining the world, new ways to protect those in need, new ways to be with each other no matter how far we are, new ways to create a society that works for all, not just for the fews?
What if governments started providing means so that each and every citizen would feel protected despite the odds of life? What if businesses started to care about workers and regarded them as resources instead of expendable entries on the account books?
What if we all slowed down so that our Earth can breath again? What if we could transform this crisis in an opportunity instead?
Signs of solidarity are popping up everywhere, people are self-organising and not just self-isolating, taking matters in their own hands at the best of their abilities. And that is probably what is needed the most, a proactive attitude that overcomes fear and spread kindness. A radical change of values that boosts our morale, that doesn't let us look passively while governments reduce our rights in the name of a public health emergency, but that let us actively demand for more.
As of today there are over 900 mutual aid groups here in the UK, born with the idea of coordinating care efforts for people who are self isolating, especially if they are part of a more at risk demographic including the elderly, disabled and people with other pre existing health issues. You can join your closest one here COVID-19 MUTUAL AID UK
We believe that the best way out of this will be kindness and not fear.
Our common effort, our imagination, our love for life itself can usher us out of this crisis into a world that we only dared dreaming, until now.
