In times of great strife, creative people find new (or sometimes old), ways of addressing what's crashing down on us, or what's welling up inside of us. A lot of professional creatives are being hit very hard, very quickly by this. It's frightening, and frustrating, but I have this silver-lining itch on the back of my neck that beautiful, important, hilarious and hard things will spring to life in 2020. Perhaps this is the wake-up call we needed. What will we do in a new normal? How will we grieve? How will we play?
I think the things we take for granted will become richer. Around a camp-fire that old hippie with a guitar and an off key warble just sounds damn good when you've got nothing else to turn to. Maybe we'll distill down all the junk that's being thrown at us all day, and appreciate the honest dirt under our feet. Maybe we'll actually go barefoot again and grasp onto things that are real. Maybe we will actually memorize stuff again, and not just "memorize" where to find it online. Maybe we'll talk to our neighbors (about the weather at least). Instead of going to a gym, let's get out and work the land. Less screentime, more sunshine.
Right before all of this broke, I made a decision to resign from my job and really dedicate myself to stewardship of Appalachian heirlooms. I thought that I could supplement my farm work with the small amount of income I get from performing and organizing folklife events (GAH I HAD SOME GREAT IDEAS). That's all very up in the air now, and I am just going to be really careful. There are too many people in my life that are under real threat from this pandemic, and I treasure them. For everything I can control, I'm going to act in their best interest.
On the other hand, seems like a hell of a good time to be planting beans. I'm going to lean into my creativity. I'm going to be out grubbing stumps, growing food, and putting my mind towards ways we can help each other through this.