The Centers for Disease Control now claims we are closing in on herd immunity and is lifting more restrictions. Does that mean we’re getting back to normal life – or a “new normal?” What about vulnerable groups of people like children, some ethnic populations and isolated rural folks who have yet to get the first needle in their arms?
In finding a “new normal,” we should ask, “What have we learned from this gut-crushing and mind-bending experience?” Some will say this trauma reinforces the need for me to decide what is best for my health, not let an outside source tell me. In one sense that’s true. When it comes to experiencing symptoms of health problems, we should advocate for ourselves in seeking competent health care answers. However, in facing this serious pandemic, that kind thinking is not only dangerous for the individual but makes others in our communities more vulnerable.
I’m reminded of a 2015 TV film, “An Inspector Calls.” A police inspector interrupts a wealthy family celebration to question each person about their possible connection to a young destitute woman’s death. At the end of the film, a narrator comments on how thousands of lives are, “all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”
May this commitment to one another guide us into a “new normal.”
I’m Connie Seraphine and that is my Perspective on a Post-Covid “new normal.”
Connie Seraphine is a Sycamore-area writer and poet. Her writings frequently appear on the blog, WritingSacred.org. She and her husband John operate "a 43-acre working sheep farm, training ground for working Border Collies and sheep herding demonstrations for groups from schools, retirement centers, and religious and social service institutions." She recently authored a book on those experiences called The Apprenticeship of Bilbo: Adventures on Heatherhope Farm.