Livia Firth writes a letter on the current situation regarding COVID-19, the importance of solutions for our future, and why Eco-Age will try to use its voice to try to spread a feeling of community, friendship and togetherness.
The most frequent term used to describe the period we are living in is ‘weird.’ I get many messages and emails from all over the world saying that we are living in ‘weird times.’ I started to think about this – words such as ‘worrying’ or ‘terrifying’ are being used much less (despite people bulk buying toilet paper for some strange reason) as we struggle to define this uncertain future.
‘Weird’ is correct. We carry the sense that the situation is critical and very serious, but at the same time we know that we were living in a system which was not in equilibrium, and that something, at some point, would have broken.
And so it did – or it is in the process of breaking right now.
Weird times, indeed.
We needed a shock, and shocks are never gentle. People now are dying, borders are closing, the economy is crashing. It all feels brutal and well, shocking.
But in the midst of turmoil, some narratives are already emerging. We are rediscovering friendships and a sense of community; the pollution is drastically reducing as a result of factories shutting or slowing down, of less planes flying around. We are talking about ‘sustainability” in the real sense of the word – how we will sustain ourselves through this?