This is the time…

(Written in light of the recent COVID-19 / coronavirus pandemic)

It has been many years since a common thread wove around the earth, connecting every person in every country of the world. As we move forward into history, we may find our perspectives reshaped as a unifying equality levels us all.

This is not a time for fear and unrest. This is a time to reclaim the life that has run away with us, to calm the pace that has overtaken us. A time of forced rest before we buckle under the synthetic pressure of what has become the norm.

A time to rediscover what really matters; to shift through our gripes and discern what is relevant.

A time for families to eat around the dinner table again, for parents to get to know their children, for couples to reconnect.

A time for hearts to quieten in prayer as we give thanks for our privileged lives.

A time for arrogance to be sobered as we realize just how vulnerable we really are.

A time to look at someone and truly see, to listen and finally hear.

Any jeweller will tell you that an opal’s colours shine best when placed against a dark background, yet all the eye sees are the vibrant specks of light that shine forth. Such is this strange and surreal time that we find ourselves in. We may be staring at a dark canvas, but shift the angle you are looking from and specks of light are sure to shine through.