Today more musings and contemplations inspired by reading philosophy. Have you ever considered what life would be like for you now if you had chosen to pursue a different career, a calling even? What are we drawn to now? If we could rewind our life what sliding door may you have opted for? Could I really have been a livestock officer? Did you design your vocational life or did it just unfurl haphazardly? My father was fortunate to have chosen to work at his passion, radio engineering, and pursued it relentlessly. Is there residual remorse over what you chose? Reading Magee, I have regret over the books I was persuaded to jettison in the interests of decluttering, winning back space. I mourn for history and philosophy of science texts – who knew?
We now have a new normal for both the economy and social interaction. Will the seismic meter ever return to what we have come to regard as normal? We are learning about the architecture of our economy, understanding the interdependence of its constituent parts and retro-fitting solutions to catastrophic change. The language of disruption has morphed to disturbance. The virus has disturbed us. After the public mind denigrating expertise we now know we need people who think rather than merely pose and strut. Will we see the parallels between relying on health expertise in a crisis and the ignorant refusal to believe climate science?
What will you do with your opportunity to hit the reset button and design a new normal? It won’t be the old normal. Political systems will need to retreat from ideology, institutions find meaning in public service, enterprises deliver products and services in novel ways, and as a society critically re-examine our current inequitable wealth distribution to ask why it should remain so. While proposals for a universal basic income and a 15 hour week have been dismissed as coming from the loony left, how different are they from what is being played out now to reclaim people from the long corona night?
Australia now has 217 new cases for a total of 5,350 and now 28 deaths. NSW share is an additional 91 to a total of 2,389 and 11 deaths.
Let’s be thankful for the snugness of our caves while we consider the sufficient principles for design of our new normal. Keep bending curve.
Awesomely Astute 