Last year, this was my view from Kopan Monastery on my way to sunrise meditations. What I first thought was morning mist, falling over the Kathmandu Valley, was in fact a blanket of pollution.
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. ~Ralph Walod Emerson
Today, after 4 weeks of lock down, the air quality of the Himalayas has improved by more than 33%. We all see the impact of Covid 19 on our health, economy and the environment, but how has it impacted our perspective? What has been made clear? Some say we are in the “new normal”. I say that there is nothing “normal” about what we are going through. As we sit back and watch, unable to participate, we are in the ultimate “time out”. A chance to reflect upon who are we now and who will we be when the world reopens? As many of us rush to find the “opportunity” in the answer, please take a moment and ponder the questions. How will we work? How will we play? How will we treat others and our planet? I do not hope for a new “normal”. I hope for “extraordinary” and I wonder "How do we create that?”