Archives for 2021

Maru and I recently finished watching the excellent series ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. It’s the story of a single mother who moves to the Ohio suburbs with her teenage daughter, and how their lives unravel as they become involved with a picture-perfect family.

Coincidentally, my sister, Mandy, was reading the ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ novel at the same time.

Although we experienced the story in completely different ways—Mandy using her imagination, and me watching the visual adaptation—we were able to have a seamless conversation about the characters, their arcs, their moments of failure, and their opportunities for redemption.

Pain, heartache, joy, triumph, love, and shame are universal emotions that can transcend their medium. So whether we end up sharing our stories via talking, writing, singing, or filming, it’s the essence that matters most.

Failure is often followed by embarrassment, and sometimes even shame.

But when we fail, it doesn’t mean we’re a failure.

To fail is to be human—to lapse, to err, to miss. But our mistakes are singular moments. They are not us.

Most of us will have heard this message before—there is nothing ground breaking here. But reminding ourselves of the message, repeating it in our minds, and approaching each new day with self-compassion and dignity is a life-long practice.

No one invented electricity.

It’s always been there.

Sure, we discovered it, and harnessed it, and most of our daily activities depend on it, but it has existed since the beginning of time—long before we figured out how to use it.

What else is out there waiting to be discovered? What else do we think is impossible today that will be plain and obvious to future generations?

And what mindset do we need to bring each day to even have the opportunity to see something others haven’t been able to see before, even if it’s always been there?

The new COVID variant—recently discovered here in the UK—is deeply troubling. Although its mortality rate is no worse than the original strain, its rate of transmissibility is 70% higher.

A new study from Imperial College London has confirmed the R0—a virus’s reproduction number, or the number of cases directly generated by an infected person—of the new variant is between 0.4-0.7 higher than the original strain.

But what do these numbers mean in practise?

During the November 2020 UK lockdown, the R0 was 0.9, meaning on average each infected person passed the virus on to 0.9 people. This resulted in a 30% decline in new cases over a 3-week period.

However, there is a fine line between case rate decline and growth—an R0 > 1 will lead to exponential increases in transmission.

Due to the transmissibility of the new COVID variant, the UK’s R0 is now estimated at 1.1-1.3, and newly imposed lockdowns are not bringing case rates down.

This means an accelerated vaccination programme is of the utmost importance, and is why the UK has extended the gap between the first and second dose of the vaccine—from 4 weeks to 12 weeks—in an effort to provide at least some immunity to a broader segment of the population before the spring.

My reflections on the topic are rudimentary and simplistic—I’m not a scientist or close to the subject matter. But there are underlying principles here that I’ve been reflecting on.

At work and at home these “fine lines” exist. There are thresholds where small changes can compound into significant opportunities or problems over a period of time. When we realise that the world works in a non-linear way, and we anticipate it, we can better prepare ourselves to respond.

The hardest part is starting.

Day two is also often difficult.

But momentum begets momentum.

We decide if, when, and how we turn up. And we can use the inches we gain today to help us do it again tomorrow.

And the day after.

And the next.