Hope

April 22 was Earth Day. In this extraordinary year, this is a message of hope that I want to share with you.

Hope that, in the middle of this pandemic, we will all be able to navigate through the small and big personal storms that confinement creates. For some, this confinement brings a somewhat uncomfortable break, which can nonetheless be beneficial on several points. But for many, it also exacerbates inequalities, distress, lack of resources. Before we can take care of the earth, we have to be able to take care of ourself, so it's of all these little personal storms I think of first.

Hope that we will be able to navigate together through the collective storm that the pandemic is also creating. That we will find ways to invest in solutions that supports citizens while also benefiting our planet, our home. That we will invest in ways to be more resilient in the face of other challenges, be it another pandemic, or a natural disaster.

Hope that we collectively wake up to the complexity and interdependence of all life on earth. We have long seen ourselves above nature, but we take a lesson in humility: as ingenious as we may be, our lives are inextricably linked to the rest of the Earth's ecosystems, however small they may be. Increasing risks of pandemics, of natural disasters linked to climate change, of pollution: these are all problems linked to our current way of life and consumption. The beauty in all of this is that we can change.

Hope that we are also mobilizing for the earth and the climate crisis that awaits it. This other crisis, much less tangible than a pandemic and which seems more distant, but which could be devastating for our own children. We see with confinement how having to leave behind our habits and depriving ourselves of certain things is extremely uncomfortable. We also see that although containment has certain positive impacts on the environment at the moment (including much less CO2), an almost complete and unplanned shutdown of the economy is also catastrophic for citizens and the state. We therefore need a planned and conscious change that allows us to consume less and more responsibly.

I hope we can find a way of life that respects all of life on earth and that recognizes life's interdependence. Let's take the time to reinvent our way of life so that it is not only responsible, but even more enviable: less hectic lives, with less consumption, more simplicity, more human contact and more room for nature. 

What do you hope for ?