Loneliness, Mother Teresa said, is the poverty of the West.

Never has that been more true. We are urged to “shelter in place,” away from our work, schools, friends, family, lovers, and all the places we love.

Not everyone listens. The young are in the streets enjoying themselves. Many in midlife and beyond as well.

Many can’t shelter in place. They have to work in health care, food markets, and other essential services. Continue reading →

Dear Friends,

The first thing to overcome with the coronavirus is fear. The virus is certainly dangerous. The likelihood is we will need to learn to live with it. A “new normal” will emerge with its own protocols for traveling, meeting, caring for each other, grieving those we lose, and living our lives. Perhaps there will be a vaccine. Certainly we should do everything we can to protect ourselves. But that is different from living in fear. Hafiz said it well:

Fear is the cheapest room in the house.
I’d like to see you in better living conditions.

The coronavirus is a poster child for the world we are living in now. Many think that climate change is the only existential threat. In fact the greatest threat of all is the Global Challenge—the completely unpredictable interaction of several dozen global stressors—environmental, social, and technological.

The coronavirus illustrates how perfectly predictable threats (viral pandemics) disrupt  profoundly interconnected and fragile global systems. Financial markets, supply chains, consumer behavior, tourism, healthcare, and both national and global events are all affected by the virus. Continue reading →