The provincial government is calling this the Summer of Renewal. At her daily briefing on Monday, provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry said that our goal in the next months is “to learn to live with this virus in a safe way that protects people. This year in BC, with so much unknown, is going to be unusual. We don’t know if we will have a resurgence in the fall, when influenza season hits. This is the end of our beginning of this pandemic. We do not know what is going to happen. Until we have all the pieces in place, it’s important to continue to do what we’re doing, because we know it’s working. Nobody wants to return to have a rising curve of new cases and tragic deaths.” Health Minister Adrian Dix added, “This will be a different summer than any of us has ever known, but it can be a summer of renewal.”

Everything we do, will need to be done with care, intention and mindfulness. The challenge, in my opinion, is not to be triggered or powered by fear… but by a consideration of what is essential and what is not essential. It’s challenging, but quite a beautiful opportunity to recalibrate our lives and ask, what really matters? If we can cull out a lot of the non essential busyness that used to absorb our energy and time and resources, what spaciousness might we open up in our lives, to appreciate, more deeply, the things (and people and experiences) that are essential?

I appreciated this creative video for casting us forward in time with this vision – that this might be something we look back on with a kind of deep appreciation and gratitude… even though it’s uncomfortable, stressful and weird feeling right now.