Paradox & Covid-19

There's so much to celebrate and be grateful for here in New Zealand with community transmission of Covid-19 virtually eliminated and social and business life again able to resume.

Of course there's also much to grieve with loss of jobs, separation from family and friends overseas and huge uncertainty about what the future holds for us personally and our communities.

The news yesterday of two new cases arriving in New Zealand reminds me of the fragile nature of our border protection and causes anxiety levels to rise again. It is impossible to predict when our borders will be able to re-open or how society might change permanently as a result of the pandemic. 

Coronavirus has highlighted the complex and paradoxical nature of life. In our response to the pandemic we are caught between many opposing ideas that pull against each other. For example:

• personal freedom & personal restrictions
• physical separation & deeper human connection
• selfishness (panic buying) & selflessness and acts of kindness

Global disruption has now grown beyond the Covid crisis with the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the world. They demand change and an end to systemic racism. Covid-19 heralds a time of profound change for the world, which brings another source of tension for us between the desire to hold on to the past and an openness to the inevitability of change. 

"Corona holds a mirror that reflects our relationship with ourselves, with the Earth, with each other and with the broader systems we live in."

- Marian Brehmer -

Our shared pandemic experiences and insights will provide rich material for my next day retreat The Courage Way: How to embrace paradox & transform conflict on Saturday 1 August in Auckland.  You can find details of this and other upcoming Circle of Trust events here. Of course, if there's any change due to a second wave of the virus (which, fingers crossed, there won't be), you'll receive a full refund.

• What change do you want to see emerge from this crisis?
• How will you embody the change you want to see in the world?