Air Hugs All 'Round

Most of the things that give me joy or pleasure have been postponed or closed until further notice.  That includes my yoga practise, two writers' workshops, and watercolour classes.  And this morning I went to the one refuge that always lifts my spirits - the library - and it was closed, too.  I couldn't even shove my books down the after-hours return slot because it was locked shut. 
At least there's one pleasure that hasn't been taken from me - walking.  I live in a beautiful town surrounded by bucolic  countryside that has many nature walks and trails in and around it.  Thank goddess that's still available to me.
The lockdown of so many public places and services does have an upside, however.  It's proving to be good for the environment.  More people are staying at home, which means they aren't driving cars as much, and of course overseas travel has declined considerably.  Not only is there less world-wide fuel emission, there are a lot fewer people creating garbage in major tourist centres.  China and Italy have reported that the quality of air and water has noticeably improved since the coronavirus outbreak.  Thank goddess for small mercies.

As for embracing social distancing (an oxymoron if there ever was one - I read it on the Web somewhere) I'm mostly fine with that.  Thanks to a life changing trip to Peru last year, I've only recently learned how to hug properly; but now I must revert to my well practised "air hugs."  Not that I see or meet many people to air hug these days anyway.  So I'm hugging trees instead. 

There's a very large, old maple tree on the front lawn of my home.  I call him Francis, after two gentle souls - my maternal grandfather, and the patron saint of ecology, Francis of Assisi.  As fate would have it, or maybe I intuited that something was up, I began my tree hugging campaign some time before the covid-19 crisis was in full swing. 
Now I have more reason than ever to hug Francis every day.  I want to touch something that's alive and strong and beautiful.  Unfortunately, Francis is not the healthiest of trees, because he's very old and his best days are past him.  But that's all the more reason for me to give him daily hugs.  I want to let him know he's loved.  And although he may be ailing, at least he's not contagious.   
Maybe the coronavirus is Mother Earth's way of healing some of the horrible things we've done to her.  Since the coronavirus only affects humans, it's forcing us to give a long, hard look at what we do to the planet and each other.  It's good to see that people are at last paying attention, even if it's only out of concern for themselves.  The effects, however, are far reaching.  When this is all over, and it will be over - let's hope sooner than later - perhaps humanity will have learned a deep lesson on how we are all connected - to each other and the beautiful earth that is our home.

And now I'm going for a long, solitary walk and hug some trees along the way.
- g.p.