A Different Way to Look at these Empty Streets

IT’S MONDAY but does not feel like it, for nothing has felt normal for a while now. While we’re all still practising social distancing and spending most of our time at home, here are some inspirational words that were (at time of writing) attributed to Paul Williams, the Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and author behind the much-loved songs “We’ve Only Just Begun”, “The Rainbow Connection” and more. Since then, it has come to light that he is not the author of these words. Nevertheless, the thoughts on the empty streets we’re currently seeing during this time of quarantine are lovely ones. Read them below…

When you go out and see the empty streets, the empty stadiums, the empty train platforms, don’t say to yourself, “It looks like the end of the world.” What you’ree seeing is love in action. What you’re seeing, in that negative space, is how much we do care for each other, for our grandparents, for the immuno-compromised brothers and sisters, for people we will never meet.

People will lose jobs over this. Some will lose their businesses. And some will lose their lives. All the more reason to take a moment, when you’re out on your walk, or on your way to the store, or just watching the news, to look into the emptiness and marvel at all of that love.

Let it fill and sustain you. It isn’t the end of the world. It is the most remarkable act of global solidarity we may ever witness.