By Dr. Charles Coble, Co-Chair, Earth Ministries, Binkley Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, NC
In this time, which is like no other time in our lives, I see with greater clarity that we humans really are social animals. Like you, I have reached out more to family and friends and they have reached out to me. This is happening everywhere in this time of physical separation.
I grieve for the impact of COVID-19. Yet I also see more clearly the price of our Earth-consuming life style. The clearing of the air and water due to reduced pollutants, the quieting of communities, and the reduced consumption of “stuff” that was more habit-driven than need-driven is giving humans and all life a temporary reprieve. It is like an enormous time-out for the Earth and ourselves.
In abiding by the physical distancing required for the protection of our lives, I see more clearly my need to slow down. The time to think, reflect, listen, read, and connect more closely with family and friends and to commune with nature is precious.
I have been awed to see the heroic actions that people are taking, even at risk to their own lives, to care for the victims of the coronavirus and their families. It has also been clarifying to recognize the many workers who are essential: those in grocery stores, those who keep our public services afloat, and those who repair and clean our world every day. I was almost taking them for granted.
I have taken joy in seeing the creative expressions from others and from me that seemed to have been suppressed by the routines of the pre-COVID-19 world. The creative humor from hundreds of thousands of people from around the globe has helped lift our spirits.
I feel, more than I actually “see,” that this pandemic may well mark a time of lasting change. I found Arundhati Roy’s piece in the Financial Times about India to be filled with wisdom: “Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.” Our Living Earth is desperate for a new way!
I see with new eyes our need not to simply restart our existing economy—one that is creating an obscene wealth gap so that the 1% at the top of the economic scale now have more wealth than the bottom 80%. Our economy is also ravaging the natural resources of the Earth and producing substances that are fouling the very livability of all life on Earth. We need a recreated economy, one that is more equitable and one that is more aligned with the natural systems of our Living Earth.
Perhaps this sounds too big and unrealistic, but there are actions underway in this country and around the world to rethink how we measure “economic well-being.” One of the leaders of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance is right here in North Carolina: Dirk Philipsen, professor of economic history at Duke University. His book, The Little Big Number: How GDP Came to Rule the World and What to Do about It, documents the failures of our narrow Earth-killing economic performance indicators and explores paths toward greater prosperity for Earth and the wellbeing of people. (Princeton University Press, 2015/17)
Finally, and gratefully, I see more clearly the value of affiliation with a spiritually embracing faith community, one that is committed to building a more compassionate and joyful community while pursuing justice and peace in our land and beyond.
