Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Community Friendship Luncheon, March 19

Community Friendship Luncheon, at 12 noon on...

Huguette Grand — obituary

Huguette Grand January 30, 1938 - March 14,...
CoronavirusThe new normal: Day six

The new normal: Day six

Sunday, a day of rest.

If it were warmer, we might have seen the odd butterfly but instead, we are experiencing what physicists call the butterfly effect, a theory that reminds us that a small incident can have a huge impact on the future.

We will no doubt be calling it, the one sneeze effect, from this point on as that is what started us off on the crazy, caroming path upon which we find ourselves.

Our day of rest has not been restful, given that the fabric of our lives is being pulled this way and that, but it does not have to be doomsday, either.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself, he had a point for 1933 as he rallied his country in a domestic war against the Great Depression. Today, there is a bit of fear in all of us and that’s all right. At a most fundamental level, that of washing our hands, we need to be afraid that two verses of Happy Birthday might not be sufficient, might have missed a spot, and so here’s round three, with gusto.

Given layoffs and redundancies, some of us are faced with an endless weekend starting tomorrow so who isn’t afraid for their future and that of their loved ones? At the same time, this fear we feel does not have to overshadow today. It is about the future, what will happen, not about what is happening presently. This pause gives us a chance to appreciate what we have now and provides us with the opportunity to enjoy and make the most of this day and the one right after it.

These unprecedented times teach us that we are vulnerable, fragile as a butterfly’s wings. What was certain a month ago has disappeared into a mist which, as yet, we have not been able to disperse.

Of course, we are rattled, we have profound doubts but we know that this sparks morale and will reanimate our lives while deepening our relationships and bringing out the good in everyone.

Shannon Lee Mannion

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