as the slow moving wave descends on us, some run from the beach and others into the water. perspective differs on how to live– if free-will is really something we still have when life changing events come along. there has always been a crisis, it might just not have been so close to home. as the storms increase and floodwaters rise, we pivot towards the enemy, the flu. it is always something, some portion of the sky falling. some battle we are waging, something we keep our door closed to keep out.

this current problem is a tricky one. we are social animals. we mix and mingle, we trade with one another on a daily basis-stories, food, our time, our belongings. when this is told to stop, it is like life is taken from us. how to go about our day to day rituals locked up in confinement and to what end? how long can we wait out an invisible enemy and what happens when things start falling apart, when money runs out, when systems break down. will mankind pull together or apart? my bet would be on us. we endure when we have challenges and we certainly like one another, the chance of getting sick is simply one more element in a mess that we have made. our ball of twine to unwind or choke on.

and the remedy has been passed out. quiet time for all.

so we get locked inside alone. or with our family. a remedy similar to going to time-out when we misbehaved in school. time to reflect, to sort out the stuff we have collected. to flatten the curve so the experts say. there will be waves that will ripple from this pause and many of us will not make it. time alone is too difficult, breaking with our habits is challenging and the outcome is not promised. there is no time when it will be safe to go online again, to mingle and dance and sway together in the music of life. we simply will all have to pick a time when the game is worth the candle and pile back into the elevator. or meet for coffee or shake one another’s hand. we might get sick trying, but at least we are back at the table.