The time of physically distancing, hand washing, masking up continues to be the now we are in. When it will be different cannot yet be known; yet, there is a persistent bumping up against the possibility that something is about to happen. It seems to be more than only “wishful thinking.” There is more data about this little life form that has upended the world for the past 18 months or so. A bit more is known about this virus and its variable cousins. This does not mean humans are in control. It seems so strange not to be able to equate knowing with controlling. The connection in our heads between knowing and controlling is very strong – and, it is largely located just there, in our heads, not in the world beyond our intellects.

Over time, I know that I have had epiphanies about this connection. Trained early on to be a good student, the message was clear: knowing and being able to control (others? the world? myself?) was the way to operate. Life interrupted that. Intellect over time fell from the pinnacle of achievement into the toolbox of my life, where it, the physical, the emotional and the spiritual also found space, equally. The hammer of intellect had tried to make all of life into a nail; at some point, the other useful elements showed themselves. So, during this time of lockdown, much of life has become recognizable only when it is viewed beyond the control of intellect and within the purview of emotion, within the limits of the physical, to the extent of our spiritual longings.

People have more time (often more than is wanted) to question, to be curious, to take risks. The preeminence of our human intellects is called into a reality check: the full array of our capacities as beings on this planet is in view, peeking out from under the cover our fullness retreated to when we were, metaphorically, banished from the Garden.