The World Health Organization reports 2,462, 911 souls have been taken by Covid-19 so far. WorldoMeter reports 2,479, 882. By some accounts we have already passed a half million deaths in the U.S. Each death the loss of a uniquely precious being.
There are many, this last pandemic year, who have fervently pushed for life to “return to normal.” Under that noise is another sound, the human community wailing. Each new grief amplifies our losses. Everywhere, keening.
The largest share of deaths, here and around the world, are our elders. What has been taken cannot be fathomed. A proverb from Mali reminds us, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.”
We haven’t yet begun to address what brought us such a toll, including the greed underlying disinformation, mismanagement, and structural inequality. I hope, as we do, we center on regenerative justice for people and for all living systems.
We haven’t yet begun to fathom our losses, let alone how to honor those lives. I hope, as we do, we tell stories, we create, we cherish. I hope we, in the end, make this about peace.
Re-member us,
you who are living,
restore us, renew us.
Speak for our silence.
Continue our work.
Bless the breath of life.
Sing of the hidden patterns.
Weave the web of peace.
Judith Anderson
Laura Grace Weldon 
Profound truths
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We have a long, long way to go before we grasp the magnitude of loss.
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True words indeed
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You are so right. Not sure we will ever comprehend what all we have lost.
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I think it’s beyond comprehension.
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Thank you for re-sounding the truth under the talking excuses. Seeking peace in my heart to make peace in the world. Hard to get past my anger and broken-heartedness. Owning it, naming it, feeling it, that helps. Your words help.
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Thank you for the reminder to seek peace in our hearts. Perhaps we first have to let our anger and broken-heartedness have their say..
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It’s true. Regardless of the cause, the loss of our elders is diminishing. My own recent loss has only brought to the fore all the questions I should have asked while I could… and didn’t. Now, I will never have answers.
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So true. My parents have been gone a bit over a decade now and I still have new questions that will never be answered. I guess every generation experiences this but it hurts.
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