One thing that I can see that is coming to light from our time spent with the pandemic is the great disparity of how each of us is impacted. One might be enjoying her isolation, as another longs to escape. Some are pulling fifty-hour shifts in chaotic ICU wards, while others are learning how to bake with the quiet time offered them. Some are dying, while others are learning to live more authentically than ever. Life is a paradox. It always has been. Anytime you are enjoying a meal, you can be sure that a mother, somewhere in the world, is unable to feed her child. Life is unfair. This has always been true. But, it is also true that life around the globe is improving. The New York Times contributor Nicholas Kristof writes a piece at the end of every year about the state of the world. I try and send it around to friends. The world makes great strides every year in the alleviation of poverty and all the ills that accompany it. It’s vitally important, if we wish for the lives of every member of the family of man to improve around the globe, that the awareness of the disparity of how those lives are lived comes near enough to touch our hearts. This pandemic is bringing this understanding nearer. I pray we listen to what it has to teach us.
