Let’s convert the hamster wheel into a carousel
By Viviane Ruof. Viviane hails from Switzerland, graduated last year, and on her India trip, just before the Indian lockdown, visited the kanthari Institute for 3 days.
Like sprouts that tentatively pierce the foliage in spring, more and more people are now daring to take to the streets again. Gradually the first shops reopen and yesterday I returned to the school for the first time. But it was nothing like before. So, in that sens, ‘Post-Corona’ does not exist.
If you look around the city, you will see the gardens as beautifully maintained as never before and on the sidewalks you will see quite some discarded furniture and bookcases. During the lockdown, there was plenty of time to clean up the apartment. And not only that, but also to ‘clean up’ ourselves.
We were all thrown out of our hamster wheel, landed on the grass and suddenly we have this unique chance to take a look from the outside in… a time to think and reflect and study the elements of what we thought we knew.
Now we are faced with the decision: do we really want to go back to where we were?
We can only change things that we are aware of, and that is exactly the first step that has now been taken. We have an opportunity to see the forest again despite all the trees…
In other words, Corona gives us space and time to ask questions, shaking up several matters that seemed ‘stuck’ and everything that we have taken for granted. If you take the apartment as an example, Corona could be a cleaner who goes through and says “have you noticed the dust behind the shelf?
It’s about time to get the broken windowsill fixed. Do you still use this sweater or give it away?”
In the transfer, we can question “What structures do we want to hold on to? And, if not now, when would there be a better time to think about an unconditional basic income for all?
What about the weakest members in our society, it is them who also determine our collective strength? Where is the golden middle ground between security and freedom? When does control deprive quality of life and how stable is the foundation of our fundamental civil rights? Who has sovereignty over our bodies? Isn’t our planet also a patient of the “polymorbid” risk-group that is already ‘infected’ with Homo Sapiens and therefore needs to be protected? Which school system do we want? Which health care system? Are we dealing with some broken windowsills here?
So, in this opportunity to rebuild structures, will the architect be inspired by insecurity & fear or by love, trust & confidence?
We are one. We all share the same Earth. And, despite all the diversity, if segregation, exploitation, and oppression could be sidelined, there is room for unimaginable potential and a gigantic pulling force. It was amazing to see how quickly all the levers were put in place when something was deemed important. Now we are separated from others, from the environment and we are home alone. But creating awareness is the only way to turn this situation to all-one. A new “we” invites everyone…
we just need to be wanting and start living it.
Charles Eisenstein, a renowned mathematician, philosopher and thought leader for an ecological way of life independent of money wrote: “Let us pay attention to each other now. Let us remember how precious each and every one of us is and how precious life is. Let us take stock of our civilization, break it down into individual parts, and see if we can build a much more beautiful one from it.”
We have a white snow arena in front of us again. The new snow has covered all the predetermined, ceded tracks. We can stand in amazement of it and imagine the most beautiful paths and traces.
There is a freedom to explore any direction. So, let us look forward to spring, to the diverse flora that develops from the little seeds and let us begin to live in the new reality. On to new goals!