Not Even Sound Baths Can Save Us Now

The blur of modernity catalyzes a moral blindness that spares no one. It is not enough to embrace slow food, meditation, sound baths, or locking yourself in the bathroom at a party. The blur surrounds you, obfuscating your momentary insights. Pulled under by the tidal forces far more powerful than oneself, nothing can remain clear.

The quarantine catalyzed collective stillness.

“The virus is a searchlight that lays everything bare. All the grotesque needed, to be revealed as such, was for time to stop.” — Roger Cohen for the New York Times

Reflecting in the blur of modern life is almost impossible.

Life is in watercolor — at times, beautiful, a swath of pastels and shimmering sunsets. But stop, try to capture a moment, and it becomes a hazy pitch for connection on a monetized social network, and you are alone again.

Will things go back to “normal”?

“Hustle,” say the Instagram bios, the mugs from Target, the t-shirt of your neighbor who might even be friendly. Where were we? Treasure the small moments you’ve managed to snag while standing still can provide a clear view. Nothing will ever be the same, but the appearances of the “old dispensation” may well re-emerge.

Stand Still, and Remember What You See.

I concur with Zia Haider Rahman, who suggests that reversion to the old dispensation will occur, and perhaps quite quickly, simply because no other blueprint exists. I implore you, while the world is still somewhat still, to draw what you see. Through writing, through art, through engineering or whatever medium you choose, perhaps we can begin to give birth to the blueprint of the next beginning.