Good Within

I’d heard that the Internet has kept us apart, that a species who for centuries thrived as social creatures is content now to stare into a screen and communicate in tweets and posts. Then a pandemic hits and half the world is asked to retreat to their homes where we actually can’t socialize so easily, and we are not so happy about it at all.

Turns out we do miss seeing one another, shaking someone’s hand, hugging, going to parties, to concerts, to soccer matches. Turns out, we like to go shopping in actual stores, to sit in coffee shops to write our screenplay instead of our bedroom, to eat dinner out to enjoy the energy of a full restaurant. Turns out, despite the convenience of the Internet, we hadn’t become a planet of shut-ins. Now we’re singing from balconies, calling relatives, and going for walks.

And now, it turns out, we’re quite grateful for the Internet. Now, fortunately, we can FaceTime or Google hangout, have virtual classes and meetings. I paid my taxes online last week with the help of my online accountant. Despite sheltering in place, we remain connected by a web as wide the world, an invention of minds hungry for the means to overcome the boundaries of the physical world that separate us.

I do not mean to minimize the physical, emotional, and economic suffering this time has wrought. Nor do I believe any invention, even something as phenomenal as the Internet, can solve all our woes. Fear and violence can be spread as quickly as love and peace through our many virtual portals. But I also know that the end of the world, the end of love, the end of joy, the end of all that is good is never quite as close as we sometimes believe. Social media can’t end it all, and nationalism can’t end it all, and a pandemic won’t either. Everything good in the world remains within us, forever seeking newer and newer means of expression.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write With Confidence.
You can find William at: williamkenower.com