From Dianna:
I’ve given A World Redesigned some thought, and here’s what comes to mind: social distancing and fear of others. I hope this doesn’t become part of our world as we come out of this insanity.
A couple of years ago as a grey-haired lady friend and I slipped and slid along icy Portland sidewalks, almost every person we passed in four or five blocks smiled and said something kind. That’s when I realized that I’m at a point in my life that people acknowledge my presence on the street. Whether it’s because I’m harmless or look like your beloved grandmother, whether it’s compassionate or demeaning, is a topic for another conversation, but there it is … people greeted me.
These days, not so much. Too many times it’s a furtive look before dodging away, very few smiles, and, underlying it all, a sense of fear. I hope this goes away with the lifting of restrictions.
Price Tags welcomes other insights and comments on “A World Redesigned”.
I have experienced that too although I am encouraged to find that if I am the person moving out of the way to create the social distance, I am often greeted with a smile or thanks. So I have chosen to be the distancer just to create this response. It also reminds me of when I would run in the mornings on the West Van seawall: before 8 or so in the morning, everyone would say hello as I passed, as if by being out there in smaller numbers in the early hours created a sense of community. By 9 am it was back to normal; just a glance at best as I ran by. Perhaps what this all means is that we will find new normals where the initial fear will have given way to respect for proper distancing.
Masked like some furtive bandit, fearful of just being outside the four walls of my home with a compromised immune system, I walk along the waterfront as the sun rises in the early morning, trying to find some solace from weeks of mostly solitary confinement. There are only a few who disturb their slumber so early on these days that seem like working holidays. How could I not acknowledge those who I pass at an adequate social distance? It’s basic human contact. At very least, it’s an acknowledgement that, if the passerby is not hidden behind a mask, I have nothing really to hide from them. If they, too are masked, a good morning greeting is a kindred-like act, admitting a mutual anxiety, a resignation to a certain desperation to survive. A simple “good morning” or a “have a good day” is a declaration that we are one — we are ALL in this together. Perhaps it’s also a wishful act. Wishing that we will all continue to be “in this together”, with the “this” being the caring for the planet that we all share. Wishing for a togetherness or mutual resolve to face reality and tackle the big challenges that face us all. A mutual resolve that has long been missing. Could this be the dawn of a new reality? A simple acknowledgment as we pass by each other.