We are fragmented

Last week, I was part of yet another Zoom meeting, during which one participant shared an inspired reflection on our age from a bishop in the USA.  It has stayed with me.  As I remember it, the bishop voiced that our church of this pandemic is a fragmented church in need of transformation.  What so struck me was the use of the word "fragmented" as it was such a precise and powerful description of where we find ourselves.  This gave me another 'wow' enlightenment.  

Then following on from hearing the use of this word for the first time in describing our age, I heard it used again from a totally different quarter of society.  Uncanny!  I then took the word to posit that whether, individual, community, society or church, we are experiencing fragmentation at all levels, highlighting the need for global transformation, not just church transformation.  

The latest of many signs of this fragmented world I am seeing is the issue of holidaying in Spain.  There an upsurge in the virus is happening due to social misbehaviour during a pandemic, with some sections of society not showing respect for the virus nor responsibility for the good of others.  So the UK response is to enforce a blanket quarantine for all holiday makers returning from Spain.  This one story is showing how fragmented is our world.  So the story goes on.  

In the Church, the story of Archbishop Vigano, in his publicly opposing Pope Francis, highlights the deep level of fragmentation in our Church.  This good archbishop did not get what he wanted and so he goes full speed making unruly accusations against the Pope.  He is but one example of the abuse of power which is highlighting deep divisions and a fragmented life within the church.  

US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Whether church or world, fragmentation is real which is challenging us to face it full-on.  Transformation is the truly needed response but one wonders how, when and if ever.  Then, if it does not happen now in the midst of the chaos of a pandemic, when will it ever happen?  

Then along comes someone like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who stands up to the abuse of power in a public forum, the US Congress no less.  She speaks out so eloquently, so respectfully, so forcefully against the structural abuse of power under a system of male patriarchy.  Hers is one voice in our crazy world speaking out for the dignity of all.  All lives matter!  Dignity for all!

Here lies the key.  Our world and church are screaming out for transformation, transformation based on the dignity and respect deserved by every human being.  As my great friend and companion in the Order says from Rome - 

Viva la revolucion del evangelio! 

(He is Spanish.)

The New Normal

Are we seeing in this photo the new normal at play?  I think not.  Rather I conjecture we are seeing the well known and tired human conditioning to do things my way.  To take it one step further, don't care for anyone else, do it my way, the easy way and don't get caught.  In this age of the pandemic, this typical human attitude to life assumes new levels of censure, with behaviours in the opposite direction now being purposefully demanded.   Even when alone, we are being challenged at this time to be conscious of the other for, during a pandemic, we can never think we are living in some lone bubble.     

We are reading about establishing travel bubbles to allow safe travel between designated countries. Still one must ask if such a concept works.  Surely, it will only succeed under strict standards of cooperation and responsibility being enforced and respected at every level and by everyone.  Just one loose canon, just one lax action and the bubble is burst. 

Holding to a bubble philosophy in life, even at the best of times, is questionable and unsustainable as we do not exist on our own.  We are ever connected and interdependent.  Life is never about being isolated, thinking we are special or stronger or better.  We sure find that out when our self-imposed bubble bursts.

 More than ever, our asserting personal responsibility matters, having repercussions even for the sake of human survival.  Of course, responsibility does not come easily.  It does exact a personal cost.  To be the opposite may seem easier but it has consequences that we may rather not choose at the best of times.  In this extraordinary age,  being irresponsible may be about much more than being uncomfortable; it may lead to catastrophe.    

Thanks to a virus, the way ahead is set - we all win together.  This age is a great teacher in decent human behaviour.  Respect and responsibility rule always.  Bubbles are for the birds.  

A picture tells the story. 

R&R

A recent article in the Bangkok Post attracted my attention.  It is entitled "Thai massage loses its charm behind masks, social distancing".  It is a story about the 'used to be' thriving massage industry in  Thailand that is now far from thriving in a COVID-19 world because of the new normal with its guidelines for dealing with the pandemic.  

These guidelines apply to all social settings for the sake of upholding health and safety.  They determine how we come together, how we interact.  In the massage industry, this has had a huge impact on what is a simple, business engagement for pursuing individual well-being.   In the pandemic, the everyday massage has become part of the front line for fighting the virus.  As a massage can pose a danger to one's well-being, the response is to apply guidelines which make it some sort of 'out of earth' experience.   

I am seeing the continuing message that this pandemic is more than a health crisis.  It is teaching us how to be human and be human together.  This is shown in this case example of Thai massage where an ordinary interaction between customer and practitioner becomes something strange and uncomfortable and extraordinary for the sake of good in this age.  Welcome to the new normal.  

The key words in this new normal for human behaviour are respect and responsibility.  It is time for R&R.  We are being challenged to reinvent both life and business on the basis of R&R, even in Thai massage.  These two Rs lead to a third R of the new normal - Reinvent.  

Hold these 3 Rs as key words for good and decent human behaviour.  Respect and responsibility leading to reinventing as needed.  Somehow we had lost our way.  This pandemic is helping us refind our proper and shared way.  What a great opportunity for humanity!  This is a grace filled time.  We just need to recognize it and embrace it.  

What did you do on your day off?

Thailand is noted for its many public holidays.  This week had two. What to do?  Well, most Thais go to the beach or go home to family or just stay at home and relax.  However, if you are wealthy enough, you open your new road into your housing estate.  So what is so special, you may ask?  It was that, as I watched the simple road opening ceremony, I saw the owner being driven down his new road in his Bentley.  I automatically asked myself - how many Bentleys are driven around my hometown of Brisbane?  None, that I know.  Even if one in Brisbane could afford a Bentley, no one would surely buy one as too pretentious.      

The owner rightly treats his guests royally.  Shouldn't we all?

Social inequality is real.  The gap between rich and poor is a major concern in any nation's pursuit of peace and stability.  Unlike Cambodia or Laos, Thailand is not a poor country with its people having been largely raised out of poverty.  Sadly, this is not the full story, for Thailand knows a growing gap between its richest and the rest of society.  This increasing wealth gap has become its pressing issue.  Of course, Thailand does not stand alone on this as this only reflects a worrying world trend where peoples are becoming more divided, not united, on the basis of shared wealth.

   

This is happening amidst present and eager cries of the pandemic for human solidarity.  They are voiced in "Leave no one behind" and "No one is safe until we are all safe".  The medical experts and global leadership plainly state that this pandemic cannot be fought without all of us fighting it together.  The truth is that our future and strength lie in our coming together.  

Yet the harsh opposite ever raises its head, with division and social inequality being highlighted in so many ways during this pandemic.  What is worse is that divisions are being used in destructive ways for short term gain by powerful forces which are pursuing their own agenda of power and greed. 

  

Despite all, people are reaching out to each other with renewed vigor as never before in recent times.  At the grassroots, people worldwide are showing care and concern for their neighbor, taking time to get to know each other and helping strangers in need.  

Within our mixed reality, a disconnect exists with certain leading elites choosing not to share in a way forward based on a preferred philosophy of human solidarity.  Rather they choose division for the sake of achieving their own meager ends.   Their choice does not diminish the better choice taken by so many, for the real power, the future belong to those who choose otherwise.