I haven’t felt this much joy since attending a New Year’s party on December 31st, 2019. So what if all of it was fake. Drunk elephants sleeping in a tea field in rural China? Come on! Don’t burst my bubble. High-spirited dolphins and swans returning home to the Venice canal? Please! Just let me live out this dream. During such a helpless time, I find it incredibly reassuring to see nature undeterred by all of the destruction humans have caused. I want to believe that nature can bounce back, that it’s resilient, that despite all of the polar bears, tigers, salmon, bees, and orangutans that have disappeared, Earth is going to be okay. And by extension, we are going to be okay.
Maybe there’s still time. Maybe it’s not too late to save the planet. I’d like to think that we humans haven’t ruined everything yet. And I’ve been getting a lot of evidence that supports the idea that nature was just waiting for us all to chill out. According to my friends and their Instagram stories, fox cubs are playing in their backyard, a plethora of chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits are hopping around, and birds are singing like they’ve never sung before. They also text me sightings of deer, coyotes, and racoons with many exclamation marks. It’s beyond heartening. I want so badly to say, at least one good thing has come of this. I want to imagine that this is like the end of The Lion King. Out of the ruins, nature has won. The animals have returned. For once, this is their home as much as it is ours.
I’d like to think we’ve accidentally fixed the air too. Apparently, when you shut down a vast number of factories, take millions of cars off the road, halt truck deliveries, ground air travel, dock cruise ships, waste less food, and ask everyone who can work from home to do so, the air becomes breathable. Who knew? To me, it’s another reason to believe that Earth is recuperating. I find myself hoping that our new normal is actually the right normal. And in my dreams, our lack of movement has given the habitats, ecosystems, and flight patterns that have existed for many millennia a chance to heal.
But I’m wrong. Nature isn’t getting better, we’re just spending more time looking at our yards and balconies, walking around, noticing it. We’re finally not too busy to pay attention. We’re also hanging out in the same spots over and over again. Chances are we’re going to cross paths with a neighbourhood animal at some point. In reality, things are how they’ve always been; in decline. In reality, this clean air we’re breathing is temporary and pretty soon, those factories, cars, planes, ships, and trucks will be back in full force.
So, why can’t nature have its happy ending? I assume most of us wouldn’t mind if it did due to the popularity of those drunk elephants and Venetian dolphins. After some deep thinking and staring out of my window, I’ve come to the conclusion that we can’t have nice things on Earth because we want fifty different kinds of mixed berry yogurt, individually wrapped. And because we’re addicted to plastic containers of various shapes and sizes. And because we have to vacation to far off places at least once a year, preferably twice, or we’d be absolutely miserable. And because we can’t ever be off the grid, even for a second. And because everything has to be to-go or delivered same-day. And because we put all of our trust in brands. And because we buy clothes we know we won’t wear more than three times, max. And because it would be preposterous if we couldn’t have avocado smash and mango smoothies all year round. That’s probably why.
The biggest lesson I’ve taken away from being stuck inside, and seeing everyone else go through the same thing, is that it’s actually possible to stop all of this indulgence. Based on my observations, we’re fine! Working from home isn’t that bad. It’s actually quite comfortable. Now that we’ve had a taste of this alternative lifestyle, being on-the-go sounds hectic, stressful, and ultimately, unsafe. I think we’re all starting to realize that wearing the same old sweatpants day in and day out is actually pretty sweet. And I've yet to hear a single person say to me, “Boy, do I miss squeezing myself into a tight pair of jeans!” Which by the way is one of the most destructive articles of clothing in fashion.
It comes down to this. What we want most out of life is to be okay. And if Earth isn’t, then we won’t be. So, we can try our hardest to go back to what we were doing before, to go back to “normal.” Or we can take this opportunity to, in the words of Marie Kondo, only keep doing the things that will bring us joy.
