We have lego spread over the floor of our house. This happens at times as the kids get excited about it again and want to build things. Invariable during these times pieces get lost – stepped on, hoovered/vacuumed up, or fall into some crevice. It’s usually the little ones that get lost.

And then, like yesterday, a search occurs. Usually, I, as Dad, get assigned the role of ‘finding the piece that shall not be found.’ I rarely succeed, but when I do, there is much celebration.

However, when I don’t succeed (read almost every single time), the kids have one of two reactions. Either they don’t care and use a different piece or different colour to build something else, etc. Or they decide the entire set or item they were building is now ruined forever. (Generally there is no middle ground.)

Some days I wonder if this is a good analogy of our lives and societies at the moment. Our lives have changed significantly in the past weeks or month. Our communities, villages, cities, and societies have also changed. And the current way of living will be our reality for a while yet, perhaps even months. However, lockdowns will end and movement will begin again. And in those moments – now and in the future – aspects of our lives, communities, and societies will be lost. And we have a choice to accept a new reality and build something new, something different, something better. Or get angry, have a tantrum, and believe that our lives are ruined.

I hope we choose the first option. And the thing is, we don’t have to wait till the lockdown is over, we can make that choice today.

The choice is up to us.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema