Covid and the 5 key C words
You were promised in the previous issue some key words for 2020, which can guide us into 2021.
This year has been dominated by the C words – Coronavirus and Covid – and these have prompted 5 more C words from me.
I have chosen to set aside those that will feature in other lists, such as: pandemic, isolation, furlough, lockdown, track & trace, tier, vaccine, and many more. We have heard and read them so many times that we are fed up with them.
My words were in common currency before the arrival of the virus, and it’s time to get re-acquainted with them now:
Community
Communication
Connection
Choice
Courage
Community
This is the top word for me with its roots in ancient French and the latin communitas/communis.
It seems common sense to me that we need to depend more on local communities, because state governments continue to fail us, especially in the West.
This is a political point, but it’s time that much more power was derived from the bottom up and not top down; the state serves us best if it is mainly responsible for security, foreign policy and the national debt.
We have become unaccustomed to turning to the community in times of trouble.
It appears that places with an old-fashioned sense of community have fared best in weathering the Covid storm: Finland, Greece, Japan, Kerala, the West Indies, New Zealand (25 deaths), and many African countries.
At the time of writing the UK had reported nearly 1.9 million cases and 65,000 deaths.
Communication
This has become muddied and muddled in modern times, by Fake News and the vagaries of social media.
In 2021 I trust we can concentrate on clarity, honesty and authenticity in our own communications, even if we despair of that from too many politicians and celebrities.
Connection
That’s what we have all been deprived of by Covid. As the legendary Brené Brown has often said in TED talks, books and podcasts – her Unlocking Us podcast is a revelation – human beings need connection, and many people are deprived of it.
Choice
There are choices for us: to respect others by observing the reasonable rules of washing hands, keeping a safe distance, and wearing a mask.
As we approach 2021 facing the double perils of Covid and Brexit, we can choose to be upbeat and positive rather than downbeat and negative.
Courage
This word originates from Latin cor and French coeur meaning the heart. This has been writ large by the NHS, care workers, teachers and people on the front line. Their efforts encourage everybody to show courage in 2021.
I make no apology for this homily, as words matter to me almost as much as people and these 5 principles.
Make sure your words matter in 2021.
Here’s hoping you find a way to enjoy Christmas and prepare for a more prosperous New Year.
PS. I have received this wonderful quote from Will Shakespeare, with a commentary:"Love bears it out even to the edge of doom" - William Shakespeare.
Commentary from Eknath Easwaran: "Most of us can spend years in personal pursuits without ever taking time to know the needs of people in our own home, in our neighbourhood, at work. It may be rarely that we give our energy to serving their needs. We sometimes forget that our nascent capacity for love is the greatest thing we shall ever have. To nurture it, we may have to forget our private adventures in profit and pleasure for the sake of others, but that is how love grows."
It takes a lifetime to learn to love.
"Love does not burst forth one morning with a display of fireworks. It grows little by little every day, by bearing with people, as Shakespeare's sonnet says 'even to the edge of doom'. That is what love requires. But, if we make it our first priority, no matter what difficulties come our way our love cannot help but grow."