It is 08.00 am on Friday 26 February 2021, one hundred and seventy-eight days from the start of the 2020 – 2021 school year.
Whoopee, Child is back to school
It’s extraordinary to observe how quickly Child flips her mental switch from unhappy and hyperactive to happy and contented, (well, at least as happy and contented as anyone can feel when they have to live, breathe, work and play in these never ending Covid times). A day or two was all it took for her to start skipping her way into school in the morning and skipping her way back home at the end of the day – a near magical transformation. She feels great, we feel very relieved.
The Covid 19 variants – a new chapter in the continuing saga of stress upon stress upon more stress
Firstly, we had the nonsense of the ‘men-in-charge’ totally failing to ‘grasp the nettle’ that would have brought Covid under control, and totally incapable of issuing the essential, simple, trustworthy messages needed to make sure their citizens were fully and properly informed of their own responsibilities for contributing to Covid19’s strangulation.
Secondly, we had the nonsense of citizens, apparently incapable of reducing their human-to-human contacts, spreading the virus far and wide. Being blunt, this was due to them wilfully ignoring their personal and family responsibilities. Being kind, it was the result of their confusion and disgust at the shocking behaviour and performance of all the ‘men-in-charge’, leading to distrust of, and non-compliance with, the recognised anti-Covid 19 procedures.
Thirdly, now, our exhausted brains and bodies are being force-fed with the daily deluge of the latest vaccine headlines – the good (great, it works!); the bad (the dis-information) and the downright, disgusting, unsavoury ugly (the geo-politics + big pharma’s crass commercialism & sharp practices + all the corporate and personal cheating & manipulation) – please, no more, NO MORE we beg you.
And now, surprise surprise, as if timed by Covid 19 to hit us a knockout blow just when we’re being encouraged to start thinking and believing that the worst is nearly over, that the vaccination tsunami is going to start whisking us all off to the promised never-never land – enter all the new cousins of Covid 19, the merry band of variants. Swarming everywhere, appearing stage left, stage right and centre stage, they’re shouting out a brand new, very depressing message –
‘Ha ha, gotcha! NO, it’s not welcome to never-never land. Thanks to the great efforts of all you stupid humans our virus families are thriving and about to take over the world. And guess what is your reward is – YES! – you’re right! – your very own new never-ending Covid land’.
Mum and dad had a real meltdown this week
Yes, it’s true, it’s happened – all our joint best efforts to look after each other, to share the grindingly boring but essential daily Covid related tasks, to stay cool, efficient, stable, and positive despite the huge frustrations and the constant challenges to our sanity and safety, on this particular day it was not enough – we blew it! All it took to light the fuse was an innocent remark, not received kindly. We instantly became Tasmanian devils, snapping, barking, fighting, all our rules of engagement went up in flames for a few minutes. A real object lesson for us both big hugs and promises to do better.
By John Saunders
World Health Communication Associates (WHCA) & INSPIRIT Creatives UG NGO,
MediaWise and MediaFocusUK
News You Can Use
We are all vulnerable to this virus. This is a unique time for our communities all over the world as we work to combat this massive global threat. This blog aims to collect and share your stories and reflections that can help others to cope, thrive and build resilience…
Our communities are at different stages of response in different parts of the world. We can learn a lot from each other. Building on World Health Organization and other evidence-based guidance, this blog will gather and disseminate stories that inform, inspire and hopefully strengthen social connectiveness while we all practice physical distancing.
We invite you to contribute. At present we are looking for stories in the following areas:
May the force be with all of us.
Sabrina, Mike, Steve, Tuuli and Franklin for the Connecting Communities team
BLOG: https://www.inspiritcreatives.com/coronavirus-connecting-communities
Email: cccov19@gmail.com
See: https://www.whcaonline.org | https://www.inspiritcreatives.com/humanity
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12385075/ | Twitter: @connecting_comm
News: https://cccovid19.org/corona_virus/
Disclaimer – We try to include stories that respect World Health Organisation COVID19 guidance. Links take you to full published stories. Our Connecting Communities team screens and selects stories but can not guarantee accuracy of reporting and mentions of any products does not indicate endorsement. |
While we grieve for the tremendous loss of lives in so many countries, we can see and feel that the need to connect communities and share learning grows everyday. Please attach your comments and stories to this blog or send them to cccov19@gmail.com or attach them to this blog. We welcome stories in all languages and from all countries. Here are some first examples of stories and links. Send us yours and make this blog useful.