Is a planet first post-pandemic world possible?

And other thoughts on post-vaccine life

I got my first vaccine shot this week. As a long-long traveler, I’m now at a crossroads. How do I want to live my post-vaccine life? Obviously Eddie and the kids are still unvaccinated, so our family won’t be jetting off to far flung locales for quite some time.

Yet, I’m not sure what role travel will hold in my post-pandemic life. I’ve been inspired by how graciously we’ve all accepted staying close to home. Being home can, at times, feel just as strange as being abroad. Experiencing the seasons change, or getting to know the birds that frequent the trees and buildings near our homes are some ways we’ve invited the simplicity of nature to inspire us. Spring’s coming and now that we’re placing our hands in the dirt, feeling the Earth beneath our feet, we’re able to glean some of those meaningful lessons about being grounded, nurturing our needs, and tending to the soil that feeds us.

Will this continue in our post-pandemic world?

Photo by Michele Bigley

Over this year, I have gotten to know my neighbors and grown to love and depend on their presence in ways I never imagined I would. The ones who share wine and stories; the amazing wildlife advocate who helped me save a baby skunk caught in our soccer goal; the woman whose puppy has become fast friends with my dog; and the kids who run over to play outside with my sons.

We’ve gathered around the fire pit to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, election results, and the arrival of the vaccine. I’ve grown to depend on seeing them pick up their newspaper each morning, clean up trash in their front yards, or walk dogs. And I hope when I am fully vaccinated I will continue these rich connections to my place, instead of always wanting to be elsewhere.

While I am itching to explore foreign lands again, aching really for the sights and smells of otherness, I have learned to appreciate the foreignness of the nearby. Walking on a new street in my neighborhood can bring just as many surprises as sipping tea in Cairo in the same way that a street around the block is as mundane as a street in Sao Miguel after a few days of familiarity.

Over time, we become used to the familiar. Yet, the longer we stay and focus our gaze on what we see every day, the more we notice new things. A yellow bird that stopped in the bougainvillea, the barn owl that occasionally hoots from the oak tree, the baby skunks back again this spring. A year of watching the seasons change from home has been a great gift of this planetary moment.

And yet, we will all likely have the chance to be vaccinated by summer, and soon after our kids too will have some protection, and while no one knows if we’ll have reached herd immunity by then, we will all be making plans for the future lives we hope to live.

Will we continue to drive and fly less because it’s what’s right for our planet, and ourselves? Will we continue to order our groceries and furniture online wrapped in single-use plastic? Will we continue supporting the local restaurants that enshrine each spring roll in plastic? These will be the questions you will face, as I am right now. Questions I hope to explore in the coming months with you all.

I hope you too will make the commitment to attend to the planet in the same way we have all attended to protecting our kids, our parents, our friends. What are you thinking now friends about the future you hope to create in the post-pandemic world? What of your pandemic life will remain? And how will you ensure it lasts?

A note about this newsletter

I’ve been working on a piece for Elemental magazine (which I’ll share once it comes out) about being gentle with ourselves in this planetary moment. In an effort to walk the walk, I’ve decided to slow down the publication schedule for this newsletter. Inspiration will still show up in your inbox, but it’ll be once a month instead of weekly.

In addition, I’m in the process of mentoring youth journalists to share their favorite climate solutions, so be on the lookout for their great stories in the near future.

While I’m working on the next installment of this newsletter, I thought you’d appreciate this inspiring piece.

Much love to you all. Be safe out there, friends. Wear a mask. Get outside. And do something nice for yourselves.

Michele