The Show is Only on a Break
I have to admit that when events began getting cancelled and almost everything was put on hold I felt like Kevin from Home Alone when he realized that everyone who was bothering him had just disappeared. At the same time I understood very well the ramifications of a world on hold, especially for those dependent on it. But the earth has not stopped turning, there is still night and day, and life goes on. “Stay safe,” they say, “we will come back stronger.” I am only hoping that when we are “back” we are a little bit wiser because right now it looks like many entities are trying to stay alive without questioning their reason for existence.
There is a lot of comfort in continuity but sometimes we need to take a break; the real alternative to how things used to be is not in conquering the virtual world. It is painful to watch so many hanging on to constructs like schools, offices and events even as it became very clear to us that those are “non-essential.” Also contrary to the old expression “money does not grow on trees,” it is important to realize that, in fact, for a long time, trees did supply banks with the raw material for the deregulated printing of money, and that for a long time, the economy has not been doing the powerless very well.
So, where do we go from here? As far as I can tell, the show is only on a break, and this break has inevitably allowed for a little bit of humility to see the light of day, and it has mandated that we come to terms with the deconstruction of the pillars which made our relentless routines possible. If you have kids, now is the time to become better acquainted with them. If you only got to “chill” on weekends, now is the time to think about whether the grind was worth the broken relationships. If you are all of a sudden taking your events online, now is the time to reflect on your desperate attempt to remain relevant.
