July 12

Another Sunday in paradise, paradise that is the Okanagan Valley. A Sunday that I stayed home, I never drove anywhere and I spent the day doing what we were asked to do for the last three months. I stayed at home, mainly because I never had anywhere to go.

Sometimes that’s the way things go, we get to stay home and get things done. Three months ago we were being forced to stay at home, now I stayed home because I could. I stayed home and helped my friend and neighbour Brad work on his house. He helped me pull my dead poppies and weed my flower bed. Helping each other is the neighbourly way. A way we need to scale up and adopt everywhere.

Act local and think global. This is a mantra that has been adopted throughout the years. We should help each other and work together. We should act for the good of the world in our own backyards. Brad is building a garage, and a suite, I helped him get things done that were easier for two people. In turn, we pulled the poppies and the weeds in preparation for a Barbeque we are having next weekend. We help each other on a regular basis and it works. It is good to work together, a system that has been in place for thousands of years. We never expect money to change hands just sweat equity. I am optimistic that this system could be scaled up.

Unfortunately greed tends to get in the way, greed for money, and a desire to win, to be first. Our society has changed from a ‘we’ society to a ‘me’ society. And the next generation is being indoctrinated into this by technology. Cell phones and video games reward selfish pursuits. Facebook, Instagram, Tick Tok all plug our beings with technological rewards. Rewards without substance, without real value.

And we want more.

Covid has changed things for our society, in many ways it has simplified it. Travel, concerts, nightclubs remain closed to us. We find rewards in simple ways. Yet it has increased our reliance on technology exponentially. Zoom meetings, online schooling, and many other technologies have sprouted in this time of separation. The cost and the benefits to society have yet to be tallied.

As Brad and I helped each other on our street we shared hope. A hope that Covid has created the need to stay local, to build local. Created a demand for people to work together and not buy everything from far away. Our hope is we can stay connected with our natural environment, connected with each other.