Come rain or shine

Our wishes on the 笹 or bamboo branches for 2020

Tanabata in Japan has come and with it, the seasonal rains have drenched the hopes of Orihime (織姫, Weaving Princess) and her husband Hikoboshi (彦星, Cowman/Cowherd Star) meeting again this year across the Milky Way. Every year, as the story goes, they only have one chance to be with one another before going back to their respective jobs of weaving and herding. If the day is clear, they can lovingly embrace. If not, they are doomed to wait another year.

We human beings are also resilient, in spite of the coronavirus (AKA COVID-19). In the States, it might be hard to see that, as current conditions cause for survivalist instincts to kick in, but as a species worldwide, we are overcoming and adapting. In Japan, other than in major metropolises like Tokyo and Osaka, things are looking up in spite of the pandemic. Wearing masks, gargling and washing hands diligently are paying off. Though we're far from a vaccine and/or cure, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and its beam grows stronger by the day. The key is to continue to unabashedly take care of each other. This is not the time for selfish deeds.

Our resilience, and that of the generations to come, rests on how we handle ourselves as communities and as members of the web of life. Mother Earth will go on, with or without us, so we must consciously invigorate and show respect to our bonds with our sisters and brothers. Regardless of how much melanin we carry in our skin, if we don't act safely and with care towards one another, we'll all perish soon enough. America needs to regain its focus on the imminent task at hand: giving this world a chance to fully recover from this disease by working together to prevent further spread of it. There is a sliver of time left to do this in and we can't get it wrong.

The English Challenge "Come rain or shine."