Trade Anger for Humanity

Are you seeing the smoldering anger or outright flames of indignation that I am? People are divided over politics, over COVID vaccines, over whether children should be in school for their mental health or home schooling for their health and that of the teachers.

There are fissures within political parties in the US. There is finger pointing and blame between federal and provincial politicians in Canada. Vaccine delays in Canada have incented fury and those travelling to the US to obtain their vaccine(s) are either applauded or ridiculed. Canada has been criticized for accepting vaccines from COVAX; the US has been criticized for not distributing their store of vaccines more rapidly. Battles continue over softwood lumber tariffs and pipelines. Colonial Pipeline paid out $5M to re-establish operations following a ransomware attack. Between May 1 and 9, 2021, 25 people were killed and 79 injured in 22 mass shootings in the US.

Among my friends, neighbours, colleagues and clients I am observing pockets of simmering anger and frustration. It is completely understandable. We have experienced repeated lockdowns, days and weeks between hugs, months without seeing family, protests (regardless of whether for or against), evolving information about vaccine safety, antsy kids expected to sit and learn in front of a computer screen, rising house prices and competition with other buyers, open patios/closed patios, golf/no golf, working in essential services while anxious for yourself and your family, or trying to attend Microsoft Team meetings while a toddler drops a glass of milk or a cat attempts to sit on the keyboard.

We are tired. We are disillusioned. Some of us are grieving. Many have been understandably frightened. This is my call for us to return our attention to humanity.

While the horns are no longer sounding outside of hospitals around the world, our healthcare workers are still tirelessly working.  From Dr. Heather Patterson’s Instagram account,

“A shout out to the PLC and FMS ICU clinical and support staff. While many have shared their feelings of exhaustion and desperate hope that this will end, what I witnessed was the ongoing outpouring of compassion and kindness to patients and families, and support for each other. Together we can do this.”

Instagram image copyright: @heather.l.patterson “Dr. Heather Patterson, an emergency room doctor and photographer, is documenting the pandemic through photography in the hopes of giving Canadians a better understanding of the reality inside hospitals ravaged by COVID-19.” For more on Dr. Patterson, read here.

Retail workers are still showing up every day and responding to changing store capacity, in-house dining, no in-house dining, patios open, no patios open, etc. I took a much-needed break from Zoom meetings and made some cookies for the neighborhood. When I dropped them off, one mom, an ER nurse on maternity leave with 3-month-old twins and a 2-year-old, told me how she had hosted two middle-school aged kids at her home that day, so that they could do their schoolwork in a different environment, for a change of scenery. Another friend dropped off warm muffins.

This week, a Nova Scotia man learned that his mom has only 2 months to live. He has not seen his mother in almost 18 months and current domestic travel restrictions would require him to quarantine for 14 days should he go to visit her. He cannot afford to take that much time off work. Desperate, he posted a plea for help on Kijiji. With a class 1 license, he is considered an essential worker and he can travel into the neighbouring province. With 3 days off, he offered to drive for free, to carry required goods, so that he can see his mom. He was not sure if he would have any success.

Within hours, his request had been posted on Facebook and shared more than 5,000 times. Within one day, he was responding to so many text messages and emails that he quickly removed his post. One person offered to be tested to see if they would be a viable living donor for his mother. Another offered to send money to help his parents. Many, many offered him work on trucking routes; all insisted they would pay him for the work. He is being vaccinated and will take a COVID test before leaving the province and upon his return. While he has not finalized his travel plans, he can say with certainty that he has been overwhelmed with the support of strangers.

When I think of humanity, I think of my first visit to Burning Man. Our experiences were too numerous and mind-altering (drug free LOL) to articulate here. But a standout experience for me was visiting the temple. Designed, constructed and burned every year, the temple in Black Rock City is a true sanctuary. The walls are adorned with banners, e.g., “Cancer Sucks”, with photos of loved ones – people and animals, with poetry, with redemption, with words of forgiveness, pain, guilt, sorrow gratitude, hope, despair, and overwhelmingly, love.

It is silent, other than perhaps the sound of quiet gongs or a singing bowl. It is profound. It is peaceful. It is heartbreaking. It is soul-filling. What I realized, so fully that week, was that regardless of our country of origin, our cultural or religious beliefs, our sexual orientation, our socio-economic status, the colour of our skin or our mother tongue, we all share the same hopes, dreams, fears, worries and passions. When you read the messages on the temple walls, when you view the photographs and the mementos, rarely can you discern the ethnicity or other distinguishing characteristics. It is simply the story of another human being.

No matter one’s political party, belief in science or conspiracies, parent or not, employed or not, essential worker or office worker from home, living on the crowded streets of Delhi or on a reserve in the far north, we all stare up at the same blue sky or the same starlit sky. We all grieve for those we have lost, and we miss those whom we cannot visit right now. Many of us are still waiting for those long-anticipated hugs, and we want to return to freedom, whatever that looks like for us. Let’s set aside the anger. I understand. But let’s turn our thoughts to humanity.

“Love is the bridge between you and everything.” - Rumi

? 2021 Lorraine A. Moore. All rights reserved. Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution.

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