Lab Dispatch ABCV2020xv7v2

 

To update you on our current initiative on the planet humans call Earth, as reported on post March 15, our initiative progresses well. Close to 15 million people have contacted the virus and over 600,000 people have died. The numbers increase daily and rapidly.

In my previous dispatch, I reported that the convergence of human responses to our activities (the alleged climate crisis, the resurrection of indigenous wisdom, reduced plane travel, lowered investments in oil and gas, along with humans staying at home) could have the effect of extending the life of the planet and offering humans a more sustainable future. I am pleased to report that I no longer have that concern. Humans are again travelling, flying in airplanes, driving their cars, gathering in public places and circulating broadly. Accordingly, we too are in wide circulation, depending as we do on their assistance in transporting us. They are social beings and so they do like to be out and about, which is encouraging.

Although we make steady progress in our advancement, it’s difficult to predict just how this species will respond to the continuing combat. Sometimes, and in some places, they appear to work collaboratively to try to defeat us. At other times, they fight with each other about issues that are difficult to understand. Whether or not they should wear masks or follow other medical directives is a point of disagreement; they have demonstrations and riots about this and many other matters. The colour of their skin is increasingly the focus of activities, but the causes are perplexing. The diversity of their appearance actually makes them more interesting and perhaps more attractive, but the species which lacks colour, though in the minority, continues to try to dominate the others. They seem preoccupied with colour and so the illustrations they make of us show us as being red, or red and green, or yellow or purple. However, because we are very tiny, especially in comparison with these mammoth creatures, we are completely without colour to them. Transparent and invisible. Which is, of course, a great asset to us.

It is hard not to have some compassion for humans. They are fickle and unpredictable creatures but impressively resilient. Although not always thoughtful and frequently uncooperative, they are given to bursts of generosity to each other and even to some other species. At the same time, they are destroying much that is beautiful and life-affirming on their planet as they lumber about in their clumsy, thoughtless and, for the most part, uncoordinated manner.

Again, I will note that, as the most abundant entity in the vast universe, we have no reason to fear these ungainly creatures. We carry on with confidence that our mission to support their small planet will ensure that the diversity of other animals and plants can continue to exist.

Consider the Lillies

 

I am a heathen, never christened, leaning towards agnosticism, and yet I've always enjoyed the King James Version of the Bible. A passage I particularly like is from Matthew 6:28-29:

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Over the past four months, as Covid has kept us at home, many of us are toiling less, and I know only a few people who are spinning -- except for some spinning of our wheels. Instead, most of us have spent a good deal of time simply thinking and reflecting. Many of us seem to feel we have changed as a result and, when I question friends about this, they say something like this: “We’ve had more quiet time to live in the moment. We’ve been able to just let things be, and that’s helped us recognize what’s really important.”

We’ve become mindful. I used to think that practicing mindfulness was a bit woo woo, but now I find that taking the time to pay attention to the present moment helps me to get in touch with my thoughts and emotions. It helps me to become more curious about and more concerned with those around me.  It encourages me to be kind, be calm, and be safe. And to be more compassionate.

Many professionals have written about the benefits of mindfulness in helping us cope with the stresses of the pandemic and our fears about what is yet to come: https://theconversation.com/practising-mindfulness-can-help-us-through-the-coronavirus-pandemic-140617

I may not be arrayed like a lily of the field, but I am learning to be calm, which helps me to carry on. Perhaps I will become more like my granddaughter’s little dog who, coincidentally, is named Lily, and who has a great ability to live in the present.

The above passage from Matthew goes on to say:

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Those words seem to speak to the importance of attending to and making the most of the present moment. Which, we are learning, is the one thing of which we can be certain.

 

 

The Other Shoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the first shoe thudded down, we all shuttered ourselves in our homes, hoarding toilet paper, flour and yeast, and trying to adhere to the Stage One guidelines. We learned that some vineyards would deliver wine to our home if we bought a case, which was helpful: the line-ups at the liquor stores were long and slow, and we were drinking a good deal while baking sourdough bread and looking at directions for sewing facemasks. We found that the local distillery sold bottles of hand sanitizer, as well as their usual products, and we purchased both. We washed our hands a lot, noticed how much we were touching our faces and tried to stay cheerful and kind. We slept a lot, and many of us gained weight.

When Stage Two was announced, things eased up considerably as we expanded our bubbles, shopped more, and went, if somewhat nervously, to restaurants. We planted gardens outside or on balconies or patios. It looked like the curve was beginning to flatten and we started to feel smug about how well Canadians were doing – especially in BC, we said, especially on Vancouver Island. Small islands were doing best of all. We began to talk about the future. Some of us spoke about the trips we planned to take.

Now we are in Stage Three, which feels as though we are getting back to normal. The traffic is as busy as it was before the virus hit. Hotels, motels, resorts and parks are open, and travel within the province is encouraged. (Some indigenous locations in B.C. are not welcoming visitors at present which makes sense, given the devastation they have experienced in the past from smallpox and flu brought into their communities.) Movie theatres are opening up people are out in full force in restaurants and hosting small gatherings. Film and television can now take place within our province, within the limitations of safety procedures, and there is agitation for yet greater access to entertainment.

When I’ve been at restaurants and out on the streets lately, I can feel the joy and excitement that is being experienced. The word that comes to my mind is “épanouissement,” which translates as “a sense of blossoming or fulfilment.” Covid-19 is still in our thoughts and often on our lips, but it begins to feel a lot like a normal summer. People are becoming hopeful.

And we should be hopeful; we have flattened the curve, but we may have to wait for a while. Dr Bonnie Henry has said that moving to Stage Four will require widespread vaccination against COVID-19, “Community” immunity, and broad successful treatments. And if we start to experience spikes in new cases because of the loosening of restrictions, the restrictions will return. We will move backwards.

I was encouraged to watch a recent interview with Thomas Homer-Dixon, a professor and author who is the Director of the New Cascade Institute at Royal Roads University.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1987703

Royal Roads President Philip Steenkamp says the institute will bring researchers together to investigate how global pandemics, climate change, growing wealth inequality, economic destruction, social upheaval and political instability are interconnected. As we moved towards Stage Four, we are realizing that we’ll be dealing with a new kind of world where we will have to make progress on all these issues and their inter-relationships. It’s timely.

Homer-Dixon has a new book, soon to be released, called Commanding Hope: The Power We Have to Renew a World in Peril.

I’m going to order it.

While I wait for Dr. Henry’s other shoe to drop.

 

 

Wary

 

More and more I feel concerned about the convergence of the current crises: the climate crisis, the coronavirus crisis, the racism crisis and the looming economic crisis. It’s hard to know where to turn, let alone what positive next steps to take. Lately, when people have asked me how I am doing, I say I feel wary.

Wary was the word that came to my mind when I first ventured into a grocery store after weeks of self-isolating. I felt wary. And I felt everyone looked wary, partly because of our masks, but even more because of our tentative behaviour. Were we standing too close? Moving in the wrong direction? Could we get through our shopping quickly, avoiding any unnecessary contact?

The word wary, according to my etymological dictionary, has as its origin Old High German war, whence “attention, to take note, pay heed, perceive.” It’s not a bad thing for us at this time to take note and pay heed. To be careful. And, when I look up the word careful, I find that its roots are in Old English carian, cearian which has to do with anxiety, grief and concern, with the word careful meaning full of concern and thus applying attention, being painstaking and circumspect.

Given all the crises we're facing, I think we must all be wary and careful. And, as an old and privileged white woman who has enjoyed a mostly very comfortable life, I feel I must step back. I’d also like to step up, but I really don’t know what that would look like. I was talking about this with a smart young woman today and she said she believed we had to be prepared to give up our privilege and work towards an equitable society. I agreed, but wondered where to begin. She proposed that we need to start by allowing ourselves to feel very uncomfortable with things as they are. 

I remembered that a long time ago somebody said, “The enemy of good is not evil but comfort.” I think it’s true, and I believe that, if we are to survive the climate crisis and the economic crisis, we will have to move towards an equitable world which will mean that we privileged people will have to become a lot more uncomfortable.

We're starting to become much warier and more careful in reaction to the coronavirus. Perhaps this behaviour will help us deal with the other challenges we're facing. Being wary makes us pay attention and take heed. When someone in a line-up gestures to let us know we need to move back, it helps us to become aware of boundaries, our own and those of others. And when we pay attention to others, we may experience anxiety and concern about the differences we perceive. We notice the inequities that must be addressed, and we recognize the need to prepare to give up some of our privileges.

The first privilege to renounce could be that of privilege-splaining, the habit of offering all the answers and giving the directions. Doing this may be uncomfortable for those of us who are used to being the talkers.

And being uncomfortable, being quiet, looking and listening, could help. We might begin to see things differently and perceive a bigger picture. 

We might learn to see the whole forest as well as the trees. And then we might just let others tell us what the next steps must be.

What will We Become?

Who will we be without our great concert halls, theatres, galleries and museums? Without gathering together to enjoy theatre, music, art, and culture, what kind of creatures will we become?

Some might argue that such pleasures are the pastimes of privilege and thus unnecessary, but that's not the case.  All over the world and through the centuries, rich and poor people have gathered and performed in theatres, sung and played musical instruments, admired paintings and sculpture, and witnessed the work of their ancestors. These activities have been essential for our development, individually and culturally.

It’s not just about enjoyment. The arts are often challenging, provocative, even disturbing, and they help us to see ourselves, our lives, and our world, in new ways. Some years ago, celebrated Canadian author Sheila Watson spoke "about how people are driven, how if they have no art, how if they have no tradition, how if they have no ritual, they are driven in one of two ways, either towards violence or insensibility."

In a recent article, American theater director, author, playwright and educator Carey Perloff writes about the importance of those working in the arts as providing essential services. She proposes that the arts have always been essential not merely to provide comfort and entertainment but to shake up traditional thinking in ways that “wakes up our minds and empathy to alternative ways of seeing.”

Has there ever been a time when we were in greater need of alternative ways of seeing?

Perloff is speaking specifically about the need to support theater artists whenever or wherever they return to work, but this article (https://www.clydefitchreport.com/2020/06/artists-theater-acting-company/) is well worth reading with regard to our current attitudes towards the arts and the gig economy more broadly.

Persuasive arguments are often made about the economic importance of festivals such as Stratford, Shaw and Bard on the Beach for their ability to attract thousands of tourists who spend their money to stay and eat and shop in the places they visit to attend theatre festivals. That’s one good reason to support the arts organizations -- but the role of the artists who work in those industries are often forgotten!

Just as academics ARE the academy, artists ARE the organizations in which they perform. These are the essential workers.

Some people seem to think that artists are “a dime a dozen,” and certainly there's no shortage of talented young people who want to work in theatre. But how much better might they be if they were encouraged, supported and valued, and perhaps given a degree of job security? 

I’ve heard people dismiss such questions with the rationale that “they love their work.” But, really, I’ve known doctors and dentists who appear to love their work while still enjoying hefty salaries! You can enjoy your work and still get paid for it.

As Perloff suggests, now is an opportune time for us to think about what it is we value and what we consider to be essential.  At this time of profound change, the arts may turn out to be much more essential than many of the other things we have considered necessary.

Transitions

 

 

 

I have not always given my son-in-law credit for the many good things he does. For example, when I was publishing my first book, he gave me a terrific photograph he’d taken which we used for the front cover but I neglected to acknowledge that in the book. People loved that cover and I often told them that my son-in-law had taken it, but it should have been noted in the publications. There are many other such examples.

But I must give him credit for a great idea he recently had when my granddaughter had to complete her Grade 12 year online and have her graduation event by ZOOM.  It was a bit of a disappointment which was made worse with the realization that she would not be going away to university but would have to stay home and complete her first year digitally.

However, her father cleverly proposed that, since this was an important transition that needed to be marked, perhaps it would be a good idea to transform her room so as to make it a really good space for her online program.  She jumped on the idea, quickly cleaned out her room, and packed up boxes for storage or donation. After lengthy research, she chose the perfect colour for repainting the room and now has it nicely set up with a well-placed desk and appropriate bookcases. It was a brilliant suggestion, one that might be good for many 2020 grads.

We do need to mark transitions, especially these days as we are now living in a time that requires attention and will involve a profound culture change.  Many of us feel that we are already being altered by the convergence of the Covid crisis, the climate crisis, the critical need for anti-racism activism, and the anticipated economic crisis. The changes within us are happening gradually and not always observed.

I don’t know how we will mark the transitions that must take place in all these areas, transitions that, I believe, are beginning to take place. Most of us are trying at least to make a start. Maybe we need to set goals and establish targets and timelines. Maybe we should all keep journals of our individual progress. Maybe we ought to have periodic townhalls for discussion and exchange of ideas. Maybe we just need to say less and listen more. Give space for change to happen.

However we go about it, I feel sure that our transitions need to be marked.

And that good ideas and actions should always be acknowledged.

 

 

 

21 Seconds

 

 

As my friend Lyse noted the other day, Rarely have 21 seconds of silence said so much.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Trudeau was asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of tear gas against protesters to clear the way for a photo. And, the reporter added, If you don’t want to comment, what message do you think you are sending?

I was moved by what Trudeau said, and even more moved when he didn’t speak immediately. In his 21 seconds of silence, we were able to see his reflective and thoughtful reaction with regard to the message he would wish to send.

Trudeau’s silence showed us that a leader doesn’t always have to talk. Sometimes he can show us his feelings.

Some situations leave us at a loss for words but, when he did speak, our Prime Minister said We all watch in horror and consternation what’s going on in the United States. For me, that was an appropriate response that summed up what we’ve all been feeling. Horror and consternation. I thought it was also appropriate for him to then focus attention on racism in Canada and the need for us to act to correct injustice in our own country. And I was glad that, given the tense situation with the US –the extent of the virus there and the border being closed – he didn’t trigger a dangerous reaction from the American President, which could easily have happened.

Trudeau sent a good message. I heard it as a heartfelt response to an appalling situation, and also as a call to action.

We all need less talk and to take more well-considered action.

I’ve always been a bit of a blurter, but I’m trying to change. I recall what an indigenous friend told me many years ago: Use your eyes until you have seen what there is to see. Use your ears until you have heard what there is to hear. And, then, use your tongue.

The virus has made us all edgy and now, more than ever, we need to pause, before sounding off.

Late in his life my husband was often depressed about the everyday violence and depravity of the world. I found these lines in one of his journals:

Gang wars in Prince George

Teachers armed in Texas

Unlock the heart

 

We  need to speak out and to act against violence and racism. Perhaps unlocking the heart is the place to start.

 

Enough said.