1 pixel, 2 pixels, 3 pixels....

So what are we witnessing? We are approximately one month into an experience we prepared for back in 2009, with trepidation,  expecting H1N1 to be the one that caused the pandemic we were due to have. It fizzled. So part of me was thinking that this would fizzle too, in the beginning.

And yet here we are. Over a million people around the world have now had this disease and thousands have died. Yes, other things kill people. But not usually this fast nor efficiently.

In Australia,  we are at a crossroads. We have managed to somewhat contain this. It has slowed its spread and is no longer razing through  people like pixels in a Lord of the Rings epic battle scene. So now, what do we do? Economic predictions and mathematical models fill the media. Doctors talk about access to care and availability of ICU beds, access to protective equipment for those of us who will be caring for the ill. Economic gurus watch the stock market and try to predict just how big a crash we can expect.

It seems if we save people, we lose money.   So, we will eventually lose more people, slowly; to poverty, disease, domestic violence and crime. And if we don't save people, we retain some money. A sacrifice. We expend people in order to retain some of our comforts. An uncomfortable crossroads, a historic one. No doubt generations will analyse, scrutinise and judge every decision that is made from now on.

It feels surreal and eerie. People are on edge, irritable, nervous. It feels like a battleground at dawn. The mist settling over the pristine leaves, cleansed by the lack of petrol fumes. The streets are deserted and more populated by birds and other critters that roam without fear.
We are insects suspended on the surface of a perilous lake. All it needs is for a little bit of soap to break the surface tension and we ALL fall in..

I wish I could take a peek into the future. Will this very wise bug divide us all as it has over the last month, or will we unite and live to see another day?

Like all wars, a lot of us won't get to see the end.  And it seems so selfish to wish for our own safety and those we love ahead of the many who will perish. It will be someone's mum, dad, child, cousin,  work colleague. People will talk about the many that COVID19 took before a vaccine was available.

No doubt humans will live on. We have done it before. It's the individuals,  the little grains of sand like me, who may not get to see the outcome. Or maybe we will, and rebuild.

What will life be like?

Only a month ago, our wheel of progress was turning and everyone was head down in their own priority: make money, but a house, have a holiday. And now, we cower in silence. Silenced by a minute and insignificant speck that will FINALLY make us reconsider our values and morals as humans.

If the past is anything to go by, we may learn nothing. But what is certain is that my life will never be the same again. The aftermath of what is happening now will be felt for generations.

I saw a little girl and her father at the lights today. She would have been no more than 6. She approached the lights and she hesitated because she didn't want to touch the button to cross the road. She looked up at her father and he used his foot to push it.

We will have people who may grow up with a much larger sense of personal space,  or hygiene. New words are already emerging and new terms will no doubt enter the everyday. Maybe we will have greater empathy for others. Or will it all be forgotten? The "it's all about me" hoarding and consuming locust viewpoint may just prevail for more years to come.

Part of me wishes that we would just all collapse in a heap and finally become extinct. The truth of the matter is that nature is older than time, and is just dealing a well rehearsed hand and has lived to see the outcome. She presses on, unheeded and yet undeterred.

I am just a speck, a pixel.

 But a flake of snow or gust of wind can cause an avalanche, just look at Covid 19! Think of that. What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want generations in the future to say about you? Be the strongest, most righteous and powerful pixel you can possibly be. The eyes of history are on us.  Because one thing is for sure. This is real, it's happening. Stand up.