It’s Earth Day – and the timing is perfect. Lockdown is finally starting to ease and it almost feels like Mother Nature knows it. Carpets of bluebells blanket secret woods. Timid snowdrops peek out from behind their sunny daffodil sisters. Tiny fuzzy ducklings discover the delight of beautiful, clear streams and every hedge is alive with birdsongs full of life and love.
Spring is here in all her resplendent glory – a symphony of praise, celebrating a year of rest.
The last twelve months or more have been some of the hardest in living memory. Living as virtual prisoners in our homes has been hard to plan for, harder still to bear. We are only starting to get a glimpse of what this time has meant for us, our work, our world. It may be decades before we have a fuller picture of how this has impacted our globe.
As we celebrate this Earth Day, however, we can’t help but notice the myriad tiny, inspiring ways our grateful planet has responded to “having a year off”. There’s a tangible breath of freshness in the air as the world wakes up and nature comes back to life. It’s a beautiful kind of magic.
Earth Day: A spotlight of hope
You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it’s important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.
– Michelle Obama
We would never seek to underestimate the challenges of this time. But we’re an optimistic lot here at Chaptr, and it’s hard not to see some of the good that has come from our global reset.
For one thing, people have begun to value art in ways they never have before. Shares in streaming services like Netflix have soared as on-demand entertainment becomes our only entertainment. Real-life maker shows like Bake Off, The Great Pottery Throw Down, Portrait Artist of the Year and Blown Away have recorded unprecedented viewings – or taken to social media to engage their audiences in more immediate, powerful ways.
The arts went virtual and became accessible to the masses in ways they’ve never been before.
“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.”
– Bruce Garrabrandt
If anything, adversity can be the crucible for creativity, pivoting us from the tried-and-trusted to the bold-and-new.
We’re celebrating Earth Day by pausing at midday to allow ourselves the space to grieve the many losses and reflect on even the smallest triumphs. Trials develop patience, which becomes wisdom and strength. Will you join us?
Photo by Steven Kamenar on Unsplash