I always like to compare major events in life to traveling through a tunnel. Although you may not be able to see the end while going through it, you will eventually come out on the other side – that much we can be sure of. The other side often looks different too. It brings you somewhere else, to a new state or new landscape; the tunnel embodies change.
When we are forced to slow down and question the things that we are most comfortable with we have to be open to change. It is one thing to acknowledge the systems at work and their shortcomings but it is another thing to welcome something different in its place.
A piece from Dutch author, Matthias Horx titled, “The Post Corona World” reflects on the impact of coronavirus from a point in the future – from the other end of the tunnel. He calls this RE-gnosis. He writes, “paradoxically, the physical distance that the virus forced upon us also created new closeness.” It is precisely that closeness that FutureAir seeks. Closeness to our community, our environment, and ourselves. A closeness that allows us to acknowledge the invisible, make it visible, and then make a change.
However, our new normal will not come to be simply through observation and awareness. This process takes work. For those of us experiencing the slowed-down nature of our current global situation, we have the opportunity to be deliberate with our actions – we have the opportunity to pay attention.
Horx, Matthias. “48 – The Post Corona World.” Matthias Horx, 16 Mar. 2020, www.horx.com/en/48-the-post-corona-world/.
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Written by Mollie Wodenshek for FutureAir