Letter to the Editor: “And The People Stayed Home”

As we approach the first anniversary of our lives changing in so many ways, and as we wait for the vaccine to arrive, perhaps it is a good time to pause. This poem is a lovely tool you and your family could use to reflect upon this past year and to ground yourself as you look to the months of the pandemic yet to come.

And the people stayed home. And they listened, and read books, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently. And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed. —Kitty O’Meara

We want to thank each of you for what you have done to help our community through this challenging time in history. We see the sacrifices, the toll it has taken, and we look forward, in great anticipation, to the time when we join together again.

Fondly, Dr. Carlye Jensen BSc MD CCFP(EM) Dr. Jennifer Wilson BSC MD CCFP(EM) FCFP