Happiness Matters

What to expect from Covid.

I read worrying news that Covid is on the rise again in China, the country whose experiences in the latest infection control seem to be the lodestar for the rest of the world. New outbreaks, more infectious, with a super-spreader at the centre, requiring the tracing and testing of literally hundreds, then thousands, of people. Elsewhere, there are sporadic outbreaks in countries that have previously managed to keep their outbreaks under control. More infectious may not mean more deadly, but it’s all to be seen.

And what can we do? I’m not sure what to expect from Covid. It seems that, if we pursue the Scottish objective to its logical conclusion, the hope is that Covid will be eradicated here. There are some smaller countries that have managed eradication, presumably at the cost of not allowing travel beyond a radius of say, ten miles, controlling cross-border movement and so on: difficult to maintain, though presumably cross-border controls will continue to be necessary for a fixed or limited period – a year, six months? – and then gradually, we may hope to see them lifted, as part of a package of measures including widespread testing, quarantine arrangements for those who have to travel and eventually, an effective vaccine.

Meantime, here we all sit each of us alone and together as our family circumstances dictate, waiting to hear, and increasingly dependent on our on-line tools for social and business interaction. I worry most about our children, who cannot be expected to learn everything from their carers, no matter how well balanced or optimistic the adults around them might be, and who rely on people from outside their family circle to evolve and develop socially.

I am puzzled by the ramifications of losing physical sharing, laughter and picnics in the park, and I have to hope that life can resume, eventually, allowing us to emerge into daylight, in groups, and sharing hugs, whispered secrets and good times.

Thanks for listening.

Please share:

To be happy

It seems to be increasingly difficult to be happy or peaceful when, lately, lots of things seem to be happening to us, and “out of the blue”: at the end of a bruising and politically divisive three years, on 31^st January, 2020, the UK finally left the EU. After the flags had finally been re-arranged following the end of the final – final – extension period, full-page adverts placed by the UK government appeared in newspapers to remind the few of us who might have forgotten, that, “The UK has now left the European Union”. Good to know that, in the face of gloomy post-Brexit forecasts, revenues were being well deployed.

At the same time, at the end of last year, new headlines were appearing indicating the origins of coronavirus in Wuhan and speculating wildly about its causes, spread, and likely mortality rates. I watched the news and tracking reports with fascinated alarm, as one would watch the approach of a tornado following a clear path and bound, at some point, to pass nearby. By now we are beginning to realise that we don’t need a direct hit, for life to change utterly.

If there is any good news to be had out of recent events, it could be that, in the face of a growing climate emergency, the natural world has the chance to recover some ground. We also have the opportunity to reassess what really matters to us, and to work co-operatively to find sensible, practical and compassionate outcomes that include us all. Increasingly I see that working together need not be difficult, but can be immensely rewarding, both for the unexpected joy we uncover and because in working together we are more open to sharing and being inspired by new and interesting possibilities.

By finding solutions that include everyone – it is interesting, for example, that the emergence of Covid-19 in the USA has finally forced the political concession that everyone who needs it can get tested, and everyone in need can get treated – finally, we may see the beginnings of a recognition that effective solutions are, and have to be, inclusive. “Value” is not just about the stock markets or the size of our wallets.

I’m going to be taking a break for a while. It’s a time for reassessment and reflection. More than ever, we need to listen to each other, avoid jumping to conclusions and try to stay healthy, cheerful and optimistic.

Thanks for listening.

Please share:

Find something you love and donate to it.

To find something you love, a cause we would enjoy supporting, is fun. And having done our research and made our choice, we can then donate time, energy, enthusiasm or funds to it: Children and adults in need, trees and forest conservation, all kinds of wild and wonderful creatures, the causes of free speech, our local library, local producers, volunteer centres, all of these benefit from our input, big or small.

We may say we “cannot afford it” – we haven’t the time, or the energy or the funds; but on closer inspection, we may be excusing ourselves because “there’s so much wrong, what difference can I make?” or “I’m just so busy… I’m tired by the sheer scale of the problems we face…”

These are always good arguments, valid and full of reason, to explain why we fail to get involved. And indeed, compassion fatigue can creep up on us. How many petitions have we signed lately, urging action? How many appeals have we seen, and wished we could do more for? But maintaining that, therefore, there is no point in getting involved, is a tiny bit like walking along the street or in the supermarket, seeing a lost child, and not stopping to ask them, “Can I help you?”

I know there will also be lots of people who would say, “I would love to help, but I don’t want to be accused of doing anything inappropriate…” and that too, is a legitimate concern. But, on the other hand, how appropriate would it be, to leave a lost person lost? How appropriate is it, to notice that there is a problem and do nothing about it? How appropriate, to leave the moral, the difficult physical and emotional work to other people, to our young people and those who must come after us?

Lots of people do that. They make a mess, and expect nameless “others” to tidy it up. I see very clear examples of this from my kitchen window, when someone fills up the communal waste bins with something totally inappropriate, or dumps something on the kerb that they know will not be picked up by the garbage collectors. How do they expect that stuff will get sorted out? Who else will deal with it? Is it right just to expect it to miraculously vanish, one day?

Lots of questions. But it is easy to make a difference. We just have to decide that we want to, and the rest follows.

Thanks for listening.

Please share: