A friend and colleague from my former life in technology and I were talking yesterday afternoon and discussing some of the models on the virus, the real question is, what do people think is going to happen after their two weeks or three-week shut-in ends? This virus is not going away till we have a vaccine and that is like two years away maybe 18 months….if you read the book the “Autonomous Revolution” you see this new reality being discussed, oh not the virus but the condition of the world, economics, the nature of what is work, social life, etc. The virus will come and go in waves just like the flu does and has done for 150 years that we as humans have been tracking it especially after 1918 where 1 in 6 Americans died because of it……the only reason the black plague lasted 300 years is that they knew nothing about medicine and vaccines….so think about the world we live in today our work lives, social and even our spiritual, what is your path of contemplation going forward? Where do you see spirituality heading? All of this when in the next three weeks or four weeks our self imposed quarantine comes to an end…what are you facing then? Contemplation and reflection should raise some interesting questions for all of us to ponder as we all manage our new reality.

Interestingly, pollution is clearing up in Italy. Could this help our global warming? Might this create an opportunity for talented folks to start new businesses using technology that no one thought about before? The possibilities are enormous. Our job is to focus on what we can do to stay healthy and help our families and neighbors and businesses that we can still interact with and support.

 I think if we look at cloistered monasteries, both men and women, Christian and Buddhist, we might find some helpful clues on how to handle our new life in self-quarantine.