(I sometimes just ‘take dictation’ with any in-the-night mental prompts and record them on yellow Post-its. The following are pretty much 1 pagers/1 liners.)
-The sudden fact of imminent mass death has been jarring for many: individuals, families, groups, organizations, societies, countries, the world. Many are suddenly thinking seriously about death and personal death for the first time in any lengthy way.
-In response to widespread, random deaths, there has been a fight for survival response on a number of levels: individually, family-wise, community-wise, city-wise, province/state-wise, health-wise, economically, politically, ethically and morally.
-America’s recent main conflict has been between ego, greed, selfishness, lies, absolute corruption and the survival of facts, truth, empirical reasoning, decency, kindness, empathy, true heroism, and integrity.
-The responses to death overall throughout history have been the search for immediate pleasure and happiness, the development of myriad perspectives and approaches, and individual’s quests for meaning and higher purpose.
-Evil and hate remain the main human problems. There are too many autocrats and dictators controlling nations. And there is, too often, an automatic suspicion and distrust of people who do not resemble oneself.
-Despite COVID, ‘man’ is a social animal who defines himself in terms of others. Above all, is the desire to connect, to be with and ‘in’ others.
-Family is the last bastion against COVID (even for kids and unmarrieds).
-Work, in and of itself, is not enough to satisfy the soul in a time of crisis. Work is often trivial, frivolous, and antithetical to true individual freedom and providing deep inner nourishment.
-Love, truth, kindness, and beauty are mankind’s highest aspirations and worthiest achievements.
-The almost-total loss of a sense of Context/s has had a profound diminishment of people’s cognitive powers and agendas. Lost in all this has been an appreciation of civilization and the arts, an interest in beauty in the widest sense, an alienation from Nature, and an ignorance of history and the best of mankind. The larger contexts, in particular, have been mostly abandoned–the higher, uplifting, ennobling sensibilities and perspectives.
-Without the arts, we are all incomplete and horribly impoverished–emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The aesthetic sensibility and realm have taken a huge hit.
-Fear leads to separation, isolation, alienation, prejudice, discrimination, and destruction of self and others. Many people do not have the inner resources, tools, and smarts to deal with the loneliest number–number one.
-Humor and a sense of irony are the final saving graces for social discourse and interaction. They keep one sane, balanced, and broad-perspectived.
-Good health is not something to be taken for granted. Daily diet, exercise, and mobility are about as basic as it gets for an individual. Choices relative to these are basic to intactness, balance, and survival. It is hard to stay healthy or alive if you get sedentary to the point of not moving. It is always harder to hit a moving target.
-Civilization and the survival of arts and culture are not things to be taken for granted. You cannot trust government or big business to finance or support these ever.
-Given the omnipresent fact of widespread ongoing changes, one should never assume that the world one knows and prefers will be here in one minute, tomorrow, next week or month, or in the future. It is not the world that needs to change to conform to our wishes and agenda; it is people who need to change, adjust, and adapt to non-stop changes and future shocks.