Ebenezer.

As I woke up this morning, ready for another day at home, I thought of Ebenezer.

Scrooge, that is.

Because as I write this, countries, cities, and towns all over the world are closing up shop. They are engaging in an involuntary pause. . . a pause that may last longer than a simple winter’s nap.

And while I would never presume to downplay the very real dangers, death, and heartache of this time, the optimist in me searches for a silver lining.

She has to.

. . .

I like to think of the story Grandpa Joe tells a starry-eyed Charlie, the one where Willy Wonka closes his factory for a few years. And when he reopened? “More delicious candies were coming out than ever before!”

This can be our time of reawakening, Dear Reader.

I like to think of parents with their children, gathered together on the living room floor. Reading and crafting. Exploring the forgotten contents of their toy bins. Laughing, with no place to go.

I think of artists going back to the drawing board, blank canvases before them. Paints. Crayons. Embracing the opportunity for unbridled creativity.

And as for Ebenezer?

I think of the man that lay within, bursting with love and life and generosity. Springing forth after having a dismal glimpse of just how sorrowful things could be.

Could be.

. . .

Will we learn from this?

Will we reconsider the importance of family? Of health? Of simple pleasures? Of the fact that every single one of us is human?

Will we prioritize the common good over our exploitative efforts to make a buck?

When the world reopens, will it be ready to invest in the future of our children, and the future of this planet?

Will we have softened, allowing for even just the smallest bit of humanity?

Surely. Surely, we will.

. . .

I think of Ebenezer.

I think of what could have been, had he not heeded the warning of the apparitions.

I see an old man, counting his coins.

Alone.

. . .

SnapDragon is an old-soul who thinks everything is better with a little wine and cheese.

Follow her Two-Bit Musings and more on Snippets of SnapDragon.