Presence

I hope one of the things we learn from the Covid19 pandemic is the value of presence. With so many businesses, schools and government buildings closed or only open with limited access we are seeing a lot less of each other. I know our church has been closed for the past week and members are encouraged to participate online for services, meetings and updates. This is done largely through web meetings and Facebook. Somehow, the idea of trading my bi-weekly in person gatherings for the ‘virtual’ substitute is like, well trading a real doll for a paper doll, or an in-person concert (pick your style of music) for a song on the radio. Not bad, but not the real thing by a long shot. While it’s nice that traffic is non-existent unless you are near a Covid19 testing site, I miss the interaction with other humans, even ones I don’t know. Before it’s all over I may even be glad to see the one or two people I work with whom I don’t even like. Well, maybe not, but after several days, or weeks, or even months of enforced online interactions through social media people might realize that the need for the presence of other humans is something we are hard wired for. And ‘virtual’ get-togethers are no substitute for the real thing.

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