re:Silver Linings (zaibatsu.circumlunar.space), 03/24/2020
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Solderpunk recently  wrote about  some silver  linings to  the current
coronavirus  situation[1]. Not  only do  I feel  that looking  for the
positive  is  appropriate, but  I  feel  it's  essential in  times  of
distress.

One of the  things he mentioned was  that, "A small plus  is that this
experience might make 'prepping' a  little more normal." This would be
exceptional. My wife's grandmother lived through the depression in the
US, and it changed her. A small thing that she did consistently was to
save things that  people in our generation would  throw away; wrapping
paper, tin  foil, etc. Perhaps  COVID-19 will  change us all,  in good
ways,  so that  we are  all  a little  better prepared  the next  time
around.

Another thing mentioned  was "downshifting". I've had  a long personal
love affair  with the idea  of living a  simple life. It's  a passion,
really, born in my childhood. Maybe it was always in me, I don't know.
The current of sociality has prevented  me from doing much about it- I
confess, my life has been my choice, but I've made those choices based
on social  currents, and  how they  affect my  loved ones.  The simple
life,  in the  past, is  not  one that  has been  very compatible.  If
current events help  lead the world to live more  simply, to downshift
their lifesytles, I would be elated.

And lest you think solderpunk or  me calloused, read his disclaimer on
caring  for those  who are  sick, dying,  losing jobs,  etc. Yes,  bad
things are happening, but the whole  exercise of looking at the silver
lining is about looking beyond  the negative and finding the positive.
The exercise doesn't  deny the negative, it just  seeks to acknowledge
the positive.

What silver linings do you see?

[1] gopher://zaibatsu.circumlunar.space:70/0/~solderpunk/phlog/silver-linings.txt