In the late 1970’s, Britain offered a delightful ad campaign for Courage, the beer. The words “Take Courage” were accompanied by the company’s rooster logo.
I’ve always loved the phrase “take courage”—it suggests keeping a “stiff upper lip” while also offering reassurance. We could all use a boost. For some people, being apart from others is as painful as having a limb severed. Families can’t get together, friends are separated, colleagues feel adrift without their peeps. “People who need people,” as Barbra Streisand sang, may not currently be the luckiest people in the world. If you’re one of the loneliest people, take courage!
COVID-19 calls upon us to do things differently: physically distancing from people we’d normally hug, avoiding each other outdoors and inside stores, relentlessly sanitizing ourselves and everything else, worrying about every little cough—in the middle of allergy season, no less. Meanwhile, we grasp for some semblance of optimism as the news is grim. It’s on faith, and sound science, that what we give up now will pay off in reduced cases by “flattening the curve” to give our burdened healthcare system some relief. (Recent research from the University of Washington suggests that this may have already begun in Washington state. Go Huskies!).
We’ll get through this. I suspect we’ll be better for it, eventually. As an inveterate journaler, I’m keeping a record. When children three generations from now learn about the Great Coronavirus of 2020, they’ll hear about the seeds of medical advances they take for granted, find out how economies and healthcare systems changed to avoid future tragedies of this magnitude, understand what a boon coming to a standstill was for the environment, and discover the many heroes for which their schools and athletic facilities are named. We’re witnessing Big History. Take notes; future generations will want to know what life was like before, now, and after. A future-somebody’s doctoral thesis is riding on it!
What is it you want to make sure you don’t forget about this time? Please comment in the box below.
Sending you appropriately physically distanced encouragement—and reminding you to maintain parts of your normal routine.
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