It has been an unprecedented, an awe-inspiring thing to witness:
The world-machine hitting the “Pause” button.
All/most of the world’s countries suspending business-as-usual, issuing “stay-at-home” and “shelter-in-place” orders.

Some countries/governments did a good and disciplined job with that.
Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic … They were fast in their response to the pandemic threat, they were decisive.
And some really fucked it up … without naming names and blaming individuals I think history will not be merciful with the Great United States of America, with Great Britain, Brazil, Russia, Belarus, Mexico, Nicaragua and so on. 
But even those dumbhead politicians ultimately gave their half-assed orders:
“Shelter in place!”

In the span of a few very short weeks, our human world did change dramatically!
Looked very different.

No more cars on the highways, few folks on the subway.
All none-essential businesses closed & shuttered.
Just a few shops open and emptied quickly of the essentials on display.
Hospital emergency rooms full to the brim.
People dying in troves.

Millions of people confined to their homes.

The ETs observing us from up there in their UFOs were a little confused at first but then rejoiced and celebrated!
Because :
Clear skies, the air quality better than ever in the megacities & across the land, Greenhouse-gasses significantly reduced, nature got a real breather, exploitation of resources down, oil prices very down, wild animals getting to roam in urban areas, politicians exposed/called out for their narcissism and short-sightedness and so on …

And most importantly of all, millions of peoples now with time on their hand to watch all the movies on Netflix they never wanted to see ;  )
Or never had time to see.

Finally a lot of time at hand and no rush.
Time to talk with the kids, homeschool them.
Time to write long emails to their long neglected friends, grandmothers, grownup kids & lovers.

Hopefully also time to think about life and how for granted we all take the gifts of society and everyday life.
Time to consider what we appreciate, what we cherish and love.
Who is ultimately important to us and what we actually in essence want from life.

“Shutdown was easy” ….. that’s a provocative sentence.
Especially when i say it, because i live on the beautiful beach in a blessed remote corner of Costa Rica.
Maybe that fact – and knowing how to use the internet to get the relevant information – affords me a bit of perspective and thats why i say:

Shutdown was easy! 

And for sure many of us people already got very tired of the quarantine, the forced-on-us-restrictions and the whole time-on-our-hand thing and we just want to go out and do our own thing again. 
Have a life!
Do our business, as usual!

Shutdown was easy. 
It was enforced by the health authorities and driven by the fear of the virus, by the threat of serious illness and death.

Shutdown was easy ….. compared to what’s coming at us next.

But going back to business-as-usual will be hard, really hard.

Opening the national borders will be even harder.

International travel and tourism …

Really confusing, really messy, really uncertain, really … a gamble.

A risk.

No blueprint, no plan exists. No overall coordination between countries exists. No Global Leaders or universally respected Organizations are there to take charge.

Health experts and Politicians clash with very different agendas.
Nobody “in charge” really knows how this shall be done without serious negative consequences.
How to balance public health with the need to start the economic engines.

Already now there are 1.4 Million confirmed cases of Corona in the US alone and more than 84000 deaths there. And there, in the richest country on earth, 36 million people have already filed for unemployment.

The pressure to open the economy versus the fear of new waves of infections that will overwhelm the hospitals is leading to really absurd situations:

Of course, thats “just” the gun-crazy USA, right?

But i guess not quite just there, everywhere a lot of people are pretty angry already.
And confused.
And disoriented.
And aggressive.
Domestic violence is on the rise significantly.
Anxious are many, afraid, uncertain, unsure, defensive, suspended in limbo, isolated, un-hugged, un-loved, un-fucked … 

What i hear, a lot are outright depressed!
The mental health hotlines are reporting a lot of calls, a lot of cries for help.

SO … what do i think I/we/you can do to cope with this upcoming situation, how to navigate the coming 7 months or so, what to do with all the uncertainty and “danger to our life and livelihood”?

The only thing that i can think of offering – besides the many good advices in my recent postings – is to take good care of your state of mind & connect firmly with your soul, to become really really resilient to those constantly changing outside influences by finding unchanging ground in yourself >>>

MEDITATE (as if your life depends on it ;  )

Contemplate deeply to find a worldview based on CONSCIOUSNESS & LOVE

Be HUMBLE & thankful for LIFE

>>> What’s the Place of Spirituality in our busy 21 Century life (Part 1)