Hello there:
What a week. If you live somewhere else in the world, it's been quite a few weeks. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to an online marathon that started at 6AM this morning and will go on until midnight to collect funds for Protezione Civile, the respondents and staff in Italy.
L'Italia Chiamo' is an amazing show of unity. "Right now, we're called to tap into resources where we haven't been making too many deposits in the last few years: Collective trust." This is s profound sound byte from the Italian minister of culture. Actors, ministers, poets, envoys in other countries like China, and regular citizens are engaged in a continuous dialogue about what they're doing and experiencing. It's amazing!
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Culture has enormous power to energize value, affect positive change and create lasting impact.
Culture is what you do, the things you read, your habits, the people in your orbit, what you eat, yes, even what you bought at the supermarket. I have no idea what it says about Australia right now... Jokes aside, it's clear from what's been happening in China, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and other countries that we're in this for the long run.
Scientists are studying the path CoViD-19 has followed, using Italy, South Korea, and China to understand why it bloomed more in certain areas than others. Humidity? Temperature? Regardless of the conditions that favor the virus spreading, South Korea's aggressive early testing spared lives.
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I've been absent with you here, because I was having a hard time believing that what I'm sharing makes a difference. There's so much of everything out there!
Crises are not nice, they're not pleasant, they're not painless. BUT, by their very nature, they give us time to reset. This is the opportunity: Decide who we want to be (I have some links at the bottom that say more on this.)
When all this happened and Italy became the "other" in some CNN charts, I was working on a project about Italian culture for six months. I'm going to rethink my approach... and I know this is only going to make it better.
This note is to say I'm here with you, we're all in the same boat. We'll get through this, including the pain and disappointment. I'm rooting for you, all of you.
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My response to stress and crisis is to learn more and to make me better, so I can face what comes at me. Maybe you're like me, maybe you're also feeling that there were some things that could work better in your work and life. I read somewhere that expert curators are coming back into fashion. I can't help it, I love to share the good work of others.
In the last six months, I've added conversations with super smart and kind people at the blog. I also read several useful newsletters, and some of them have dug deep, especially this week.
As you sit at home, or wherever you are, you'll have more time to use the pause and space to think more (getting bored does wonders for creativity), read from your library, and talk better with the people in your life.
The conductors for l'Italia Chiamo' are saying that many Italians are listening in and messaging from all over the world. Such unity is typically impossible... in cases of true emergency, though, Italy does shine.
Know that I care what happens to you. This is why I'm here.
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