A Country Doctor Writes:

The sentimentalist in me tends to pen reflections at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.

It’s perhaps not an obvious thing to be thankful right now, but I still think we should be.

We didn’t all die. Most of us are still alive and well. There is food in the supermarket, electricity in the outlets and gasoline at the pumps. Medical clinics and hospitals are mostly open for business and now there are vaccines, medications and infusions to combat the virus that threatened to wipe us all out.

This pandemic is certainly a reminder not to take ANYTHING for granted. And, unfortunately, it has reminded us that adults can be just like children, throwing temper tantrums when they don’t get their way. And just like two year olds, these adults act out their frustration against the bearers of bad news, rather than the cause of it.

As I write this, there is news about riots in Europe against common sense precautions and restrictions. There are countless reports about hostilities and violence in this country over simple things like mask mandates.

At the same time, Covid case rates are climbing. And here we are, with holiday travel picking up and predictions of new surges as a result.

This is a time to hunker down, a time to not be greedy. It is a time, still, for delayed gratification, adult and responsible thinking. It is a time for taking stock in what we have and what has been accomplished in securing a way through and out of this natural disaster.

I read about an experiment that plans to cause a space collision with an asteroid to see how much we can alter its trajectory. This could pave the way for saving the planet some day if a more threatening space ball should appear. A small nudge, the article said, could have a major effect on the course of this astral body.

Kind of like small changes in human behavior.

I am thankful for the tools and the power we all now have that can alter the trajectory of the pandemic.