We lived in a pre-covid world

We are told that life will not be the same after covid. That covid, or some new form of the disease,  will be with us for years to come.

We will be talking about a pre-covid world and marvelling at the freedoms we took for granted. Post pandemic children will marvel when they hear about the good old days when people lived and played together. With no barriers. 

It's likely that we might need to wear the mask for the next decade or so. Our "new normal" will be shaped by social distancing and fear of the virus.

Humans are a social species and social distancing will remove the very element that was responsible for the evolution of our civilization.

Our humanity was forged by socialising.

We might out of necessity practice "social distancing", but a new generation that has grown up not knowing the power of togetherness and community might not see the world as we do.

Our empathy and ability to feel the pain of others is what makes us human. This is what separates us from savages, and this very empathy is built on being able to see life from another's perspective. 

The ability to walk in another man's shoes is honed on the contact. 

The very contact that we are trying to avoid. 

We may look in the mirror in a few years and not recognise who or what we have become. 

M Parak

Feb 2021.