I just had my second Moderna vaccine on Tuesday. I was so grateful I almost cried. The FDA just approved the Pfizer shot for 12-16 year-olds, so my daughter will soon be vaccinated as well. I am feeling the relief of being able to go to dinner inside a restaurant again soon, meeting people for coffee, and my daughter going to school full time in the fall (and me being able to work without distractions.) I dream about traveling again – to implement our community well-being/conservation projects and to go to conferences and talk to people face to face.
This all begs the question that has been on my mind since the lockdowns started over a year ago. What will the “new normal” look like? It has been so hard on so many people – the children learning from home ( and the parents!); people who had to go to work during the pandemic and deal with the public, even though contact could expose them to COVID-19; the people in nursing and retirement homes who couldn’t see their children and grandchildren; not to mention all the 778,000 people (and their families) who have died of COVID in the United States alone. Everyone will be relieved to have that nightmare over.
But it has also given many of us a chance to examine our lives. What do we want? And what do we have to examine carefully before we let it back into our lives? What never should have been there in the first place? COVID-19 was the catalyst for starting OneNature, to support a movement that broadens our ideas of “success” from money and economic growth to well-being, including the well-being of all people, animals and the planet. It has been obvious for a long time that our systems don’t support the thriving of all of us. COVID-19 showed the cracks in these systems and started tearing down the old things that weren’t working. I know several people that have made big career moves because they didn’t think there was any more time to waste before contributing exactly what they are called to contribute to the world.
So what are we going to let back into our society? Are we going to continue to exploit wildlife and habitats that may lay the groundwork for another global pandemic? Are we going to broaden our idea of fairness and equity to include everyone? Are we going to support those in developing countries who can’t afford the vaccine and don’t have access to it? How can rebuild “better” after COVID-19, that isn’t just building back the systems that didn’t work?
I think we can build back in a new way, but we are certainly at a decision point. Have you decided what activities, attitudes and even stuff will you let back in your life? Have you thought about what impact those individual choices have on society? If not, before things really get rolling and we are fully out of our cocoons, let’s think about what we value and how our new, rebuilt society can reflect that. This is our moment to emerge with our new and improved wings.