I have been thinking lately of how this current crisis is a taste of how the World might be one day. People locked away inside walls constructed by fear rather than bricks and mortar. No longer merely sheltering from the elements, but imprisoned by fear of the unseen and unknown.
We seem to be on a trajectory into a future we can never return from. A future of fear, isolation, despair and mental torment.
I truly hope humanity can make use of a time like this – of enforced social isolation – to contemplate on how we are conducting ourselves. And really think about the fact that we share this beautiful planet with other’s, and not just our own kind. That we must respect and value all who inhabit the Earth. That only together can we safeguard the rich tapestry of this small planet we call Home.
We are currently riding the wave of a pandemic that we have very few weapons to fight. And I do not think this will be the last. As we crowd out, obliterate and push Nature to the brink, it will send us more fights like this one.
I believe this current crisis is a wake-up call ….and we ignore it at our peril.
So I began reading the first few lines of a post by Rico Saenze today with some trepidation. But as I read on, I realised that he hadn’t written of doom and gloom.
He wrote of the love and support that Second Life gives to so many on a daily basis. That now, more than ever, such things are desperately needed. And he is so very right.
Even though we are merely pixels projected into a 3D world, our avatars can bring joy and comfort to a bleak and lonely existence so many are enduring at this time. They enable us to be with friends, loved ones, and those we count as extended ‘family’.
We can forget the grim news that is put out hour after hour, and enter a world that is free from health cares. Where the sun always shines, and where there is always a small pocket of silliness to be found to put a smile on our face.
Second Life allows us the comfort of never needing to feel lonely, even if we are physically alone. We are all simply one click of the mouse away from another human being.
Safe journeying through this crisis for you and your loved ones. And remember – you are never truly alone.
B♥
Boudicca Amat 
Hi, Bou, this is such an inspiring post! I’m glad in a way I could contribute to this reflection. I’m not gonna say the virus is a good thing, but since it happened, let’s admit: maybe we needed some time to stop, to reduce the crazy speed of our current societies, to slow down a bit, and we can do it now. I read on the news that pollution dropped in China during quarantine, that murky Venice canals became clear: geez, our world has been producing so much garbage (in many ways) that even a such a bad thing like a pandemic may help us breathe a – in a way – healthier air. On the other hand… yes, humanity has been destructive to the planet, but we also have this social impulse on us, the need to gather, to love and feel loved. Like everything tends to be, humans are complex. We are not simply monsters that destroy everything, we have also built ways to protect people with disabilities, to take care of elders and give them more time to spend with their grand children, we’ve been sincerely engaged in reducing mortality rate among youngsters – we care about each other. Maybe this is time to think about it, and even for that SL can help us. In many ways, I feel SL is like a family of some kind. See, you, for instance: I would have never met you, hadn’t been for SL. And let’s take a better look at it: we don’t even interact so much in-world, but Second Life helped us create a bond that goes beyond being together at the same virtual place, cause we share ideas, we share bonds that are not limited to eye-to-eye contact (or even to virtual eye-to-eye contact). And they are true, they are sincere – that’s also a gift that SL brought to us. As it brought Chouchou and AM Radio (even if he’s not visiting us anymore), and Inara and so many amazing photographers (like you), and “The Western Front, 1917” and so, so many other wonders… and these are all so true and real. I don’t know what will come after this pandemic (and the huge economic crises that it’s generating), I don’t know if we aren’t already living The Jackpot, but I, at least, have SL – I have a friend like you, I have all those creations, and there are so many people I admire there… and I have Randy and he has me. At least we are not alone.
Dear Ricco, how right you are.
Like you I think there are positives to come out of this current horror we’re all in. And I fully believe in the inherent good in us all.
Maybe, sometimes, we all just need a little push in the right direction.
The bonds that form between people within SL are so precious. It’s not something that happens often, but when it does it never ceases to amaze me.
Sometimes making me catch my breath and wonder at how truly marvellous it is, that time, distance, gender make no difference to the link that can exist between two human beings that have never met in the outside world.
I think of it as ‘tribe’.
My life has been expanded and enriched because of these – seemingly – chance meetings.