How to Redefine Normalcy During a Quarantine Time Out

How to Redefine Normalcy During a Quarantine Time Out
How to Redefine Normalcy During a Quarantine Time OutSo here we are, in a sequestered time-out, trying to redefine normalcy, which so far has eluded our every attempt. Who would have imagined a year ago that we’d be in a world-wide pandemic? 

True, we kept saying that things can’t go on like this, that we’re killing ourselves and our planet while the rich get richer and climate issues fast approach the midnight of no-return. And yes, there are prophecies of coming, dire, world-shaking events. But we seemed to have been trapped on a runaway train tearing down the track with no way of putting on the brakes until Mother Nature did it for us.

Our emotions range from fear, frustration, even apathy and depression to gratefulness, acceptance, and appreciation because now, finally, the train has derailed—globally. With all the pieces of life as we know it flying through the air—jobs, economies, food supplies, all of it—we wonder how we can ever put the pieces back together in any semblance of cohesion.

Some of us hide in seclusion, some try to steam-roll ahead, convincing ourselves that if we pretend, life will be like it used to be. In our make-believe, we go to camps, open schools, refuse to wear masks, and congregate on beaches, motorcycle rallies and political protests. And sure enough, more outbreaks tell us that won’t work. We can’t return to what was normal. At least not without making significant changes.

Once, when I was swimming in Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island in Hawaii under a full moon, dozens of us were snorkeling and watching the spectacular display of dolphins in the waters below us. In pairs, in families, in fours and eights, they cavorted, jumping in the air and swimming around us. Because they are so telepathic, I beamed a question to them, asking for their message. They said we must stay together. I’d become separated from my friends, so I surfaced and soon connected with a few. We asked the dolphins to bring us the rest of our group, and one by one they found us. As we shared our experiences, we felt a pod kinship with each other and with the glorious dolphins, leaping and circling, bathing us in their kinesthetic healing. 

We cannot solve the current global problems at the level at which they were created, as Einstein said. It will require a new consciousness, a different way of connecting and interacting. The three people I interviewed for the next four podcasts (Dolphin Pod Casts?)  offer their innovative thoughts on the general theme of creating a new normal, of building back better, of reinventing ourselves as we emerge from this pandemic.