It’s a poem that touches me in a visceral way - and one I return to over and over again. Coming back to it now during the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s message has added poignancy.
No, we can’t hold hands or “stick together” in the physical sense right now. And it’s even unwise to go out into the world unless you have an urgent need to.
But what the poem reminds us of, is that inescapable human connection which means that each one of us is dependent on the other. The underlying threads of cooperation, kindness and care for our fellow human beings are what will see us through.
That care is reaching its tendrils through communities across the world as people remember what it is to be human and what looking after each other entails. NHS workers, carers, delivery drivers, shelf stackers, cleaners, teachers, research scientist, government officials – and you and I - whether it’s hunkering down at home, supporting children, or checking on a neighbour – we can all hold hands and stick together in this very new, very different way.
*“ If you have ever wondered.. All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulgham
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