HUMANITY WILL NOT BE SUBDUED

HUMANITY WILL NOT BE SUBDUED

 

2020

Some call it angel number

a sign of huge potential

 

Many had looked towards it as

the year of perfect symmetry, symbolic of perfect vision

 

Instead

humanity woke up to a year of

furious storm

waves of suffering and sorrow

breaking over one place after another

weakening different nations

at different moments

in different ways

 

we became

disoriented and unfamiliar and adrift

locked down and lonely

empty and melancholy

convulsed and isolated

traumatised and tedious

 

7.8 billion lives and livelihoods affected

job jobless, poor poorer, vulnerable more vulnerable

elders temporarily distanced, for some permanent separations

at each dawn, many fearing the agonies to be endured before the set of sun

 

certainly, less violent than a war

but more protracted than a natural disaster

death of individuals counted, fate of the world tracked

 

some responded with disbelief and denial

others in acceptance and compliance

when no other course of action seems possible, many turned to our Creator

 

For some - mounting realization, for others - at slow drip feed pace

a fresh sense of perspective

the collective consciousness that

the action of one affects others

when one is in pain, others must not rest

for one to be strong, all must be strong

that our collective strength is dependent on the unity humanity can manifest in action

from international stage to grassroots

 

Humanity fought back

with the courage of new heroes

with resilience and resourcefulness

with innovations at unimaginable speeds

with valuable sources of comfort from arts and nature

each one valiant and determined

 

we worked, we read, and we zoomed

we watched plays and heard arias

we wandered the wilderness

we prayed

all from our homes

in solitary and in family units

separately together

 

Shakespeare coined it, humanity demonstrated it

Milk of human kindness

a sense of extraordinary solidarity emerged

waves upon waves

one place after another

strengthening different communities

at different moments

in different ways

to succor and to support others

through words and deeds

with wise counsels, comforting reassurance, and constant encouragement

with mutual aids, with covax

with bonds of love

with solace and solidarity

 

In the coming year

the consequences of which society cannot yet estimate with any certainty

humanity has the fortitude and determination to see the journey through

however difficult matters are at present

however close to the limits of endurance some sections of societies have been brought

however long and arduous the road that must be travelled

 

With stamina and staunch spirits

we draw from stores of hope, faith, and magnanimity

putting the needs of others before our own to nourish others

to work for humanity’s betterment

 

humanity will ultimately pass through this ordeal,

and will emerge on the other side

with greater insight and with a deeper appreciation

of our inherent oneness and interdependence

 

This surely is a year of inflexion point on humanity’s trajectory

But

Humanity will not be subdued