"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

I have been thinking about what to share. It has not been as easy as I thought it would be. My thoughts are mostly regarding the current situation that has gripped the entire world. Other than that I am mostly homeschooling (monitoring remote learning) and cooking.

I do try not to be too negatively preoccupied and have participated in meditations that I hope have an overall positive effect.
The start of the New Year promised so much. Now the main focus is on good health and survival.
However, I am grateful for life as some has passed on and others are ill or troubled.

The flower of Calathea rufibarba - Velvet Calathea. At home April 2020

This paradoxical first chapter of Charles Dickens's book from "A Tale of Two Cities"1859 comes to mind.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way -
in short, the period was so far like the present period,
that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received,
for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.