The Kind of World I Want to Live in Post-Pandemic

Note: This letter from the editor was originally published in our weekly newsletter and is being republished here.

Hey guys,

People have long associated success with being in demand (“Oh I’m so busy, did you see all the comments on my feed? Did you see how many views my latest YouTube video got?” LOL!), having lots of money (or at least showing that they do through borrowing and living well beyond their means), owning lots of high-end things, being popular and wearing the right-looking things (and showcasing them using the same homogenous filter/colour scheme on Insta LOL).

But I really hope we transform and evolve past this post-pandemic. Not to make light of the serious COVID-19 situation we all face, but in some ways I also believe it has given us an opportunity to reset and reflect; to work out what we value, what kind of world we want to live in post-pandemic and to define success for ourselves.

The system really wasn’t working and I don’t want to go back to what was. Here’s how I know:

Income and wealth inequalities
Greed as a desirable character trait (don’t get me started on how some Christian religions encourage it through their “Prosperity Gospel”)
Climate change, pollution and environmental destruction
Conflict and violence
Species endangerment and extinction
Rising xenophobia and intolerance
Extreme poverty
Gender and social inequalities
Mental and physical health issues (anxiety, depression, obesity to name a few)
Addiction (gambling, porn, shopping, money, drugs)

Author and activist Naomi Klein at a Fridays for Future webinar echoes these sentiments when she said:

“There’s a lot of talk about returning to normal. Normal was a crisis. Normal was Australia on fire just a couple of months ago, the Amazon of fire just before that; normal was a third mass bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef…It’s why our bodies aren’t equipped to fight this crisis. It is hospitals being systematically squeezed by the politics of austerity. Normal is a crisis. It doesn’t allow us a safe future.”

So what kind of world do I hope for (and am working towards) post-pandemic? My beautiful friend and eco stylist Natalie Shehata founder of tommie magazine said it best when she shared on Instagram:

“Collectively I hope we can work towards actions that swap;

greed for generosity
capitalism for connection/compassion
wealth for wisdom
selfishness for sustainability
busyness for balance
inequality for inclusivity
classism for connection
racism for rights
jugement for joy”

We can’t create the green, kind, fair and smart world we want if we don’t imagine it first. So what kind of world would you like to build post-pandemic? Feel free to share by leaving a comment below.

Quote I’m Loving This Week:

“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” – Dave Hollis

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