Jean Robertson | 9 October 2020
What has this pandemic really shown us? It has proved to us that we are not unique.
It struck me on a walk around my neighbourhood recently – how vulnerable we are and yet how nothing has changed for millennia for humankind to survive. Whether you drive a Ferrari or a forklift, you still have the bills to pay.
You still have to greet and speak – otherwise, you don’t connect with the humanity around you.
Throughout time – we have had to touch each other – in order to pro-create, hunt and build nations. Touch has made us who we are as a people, as a country and as a human race. Today we even touch other worlds, through visionaries like Elon Musk. The ability to touch has literally separated us and built our resilience at the same time.
Now in our arrogance, we even think that we can replace the human touch with the use of technology and AI. I, for one, do not believe that will to be completely true. The technology available merely enhances our daily lives but it will not replace the physical connections we have to one another. To touch is to love, to greet and bind our humanity together.
The taboo’s of human touch that have been placed on it throughout history are testament to how powerful it resides within our psyche and make-up.
Our main “selling point” though, according to many theorists, has been our ability to speak. Language, they say, is the difference we have compared to the animal world. Or so many believe.
You can still say “hello” with a mask on, smile with your eyes and be polite to your fellow kind. Be the voice behind the mask – no matter what language you speak.
And if you can’t speak, try sign language or write. To speak to another human being tells them all they need to know, about you as a person. Do you speak with a lilt in your voice, that is friendly and say’s “I see you”? Or is there a snarl in your tone that implicitly invokes space?
Are we constructs of governments, businesses and social media or do they reflect who we really are? Do we feel compelled to speak to be heard or do we speak to hear ourselves speak – whether we live in a ghetto or a Tuscan-style mansion?
And just as we need to connect through touch and speak with each other – we equally need to eat to have the energy for another day. We partake in many pleasures – of the flesh and of food. Like the Romans, have we become the gluttons of our time?
Or is it a part of our celebration of our existence?
Ironically, the things we took for granted, may be our downfall now and particularly during this pandemic.
So, for those of us who survive to reshape our world, let’s appreciate what we have in beautifully new and tangible ways and ensure the human spirit will live on and flourish.
