Hope Notes: Mutual
Something interesting has been happening with the good moves I’m seeing on Twitter.
When I first started Hope Notes in March, there were lots of individual gestures of kindness to see online. People would post about the actions of one person, perhaps a celebrity or just someone from the neighborhood. These actions were important, because they helped remind us while we were frozen in place of our duty of care to each other.
Once we started to come out of the initial shock of this disruption to our lives, the narrative changed. Now, more and more of the stories are about groups - and the ones that are most interesting to me are the groups that have self organized since the beginning of the outbreak.
This week, in the Good Moves section below, I’m highlighting the work of some “mutual aid” groups that have sprung up in response to this crisis. There is a long tradition of neighborhood level community service in America, and I’m sure the same is true everywhere in the world. Neighbors help each other through hard times - which is no substitute for regional and national policy, but is a great comfort to all involved.
It is the hope for each other’s well-being that serves as our strongest motivation in life. The seeds of community that we are planting right now will need some time to take root and poke through the soil. Maybe we’ve already known for a while that we lack this kind of connection to our neighbors and others who live physically nearby, but at a great emotional distance.
When we practice hope as a discipline, we must practice it together.
Road to Recovery
As of yesterday, there are at least 1,706,539 people worldwide who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have fully recovered. This is an increase of 166,075 since our last edition. An unknown number more have encountered the virus on their own and made a full recovery.
We hope for peace in the lives of everyone who has lost a loved one or friend in the midst of this crisis. We hope for strength in the lives of those who are actively suffering right now, and we hope for resolve and ingenuity in the healthcare workers figuring out how to lessen the effects of this disease on everyone.
Good Moves
How people are practicing generosity, ingenuity, and love around us right now.
Bear in mind: These mutual aid groups are all running on the resources they can gather from their own communities. If you’re in a position to offer some financial help, please consider clicking through and making a donation to their efforts. And if you’re able to volunteer your time, you can find a local mutual aid group here.
Who’s Zoomin’ Who?
How everyone is dealing with the on-camera life.
You might get some unintended drama in your Zoom calls now and then, but a DC-area theater company is putting on actual dramas using our favorite videoconferencing tool:
A couple of different Twitter feeds have sprung up to rate the backgrounds of people appearing on television via Zoom:
These two guys came up with maybe the best feature suggestion for Zoom that I’ve heard so far. Let’s hope the developers are already making this happen.
And Finally…
I’ve never had this level of energy or coordination in my life. Amazing.
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For those of you in the US, wishing you a peaceful Memorial Day weekend.
- Michael
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