On the cover of the Nov. 2 issue of Time magazine this year, the iconic logo TIME did not appear for the first time in the publication's nearly 100 year history. The letters VOTE appeared in its place above an illustration by Shepard Fairey of a young woman wearing a star-spangled vest and a bandana face mask painted with a ballot box and the call to "Vote!"
To get a sneak peek at the altered cover one late-October morning, I clicked on an editorial by Time Editor-in-Chief and CEO, Edward Felsenthal. In it, he lamented a year of "so much pain, hardship, chaos and loss" and explained that the historic cover change marked another historic moment - the upcoming presidential election in a sharply divided America - when we would make "arguably as consequential a decision as any of us has ever made at the ballot box."
The editorial began with a celebration of some uplifting changes that have occurred in the natural world as a result of the pandemic and the temporary retreat of humans indoors. For instance, citing an article published online by the journal Science on Sept. 24 titled "Singing in a Silent Spring", Felsenthal writes, "It appears that in the relative hush of the San Francisco Bay Area this past April and May, the song of the white-crowned sparrow became quieter and sweeter than it had been before."
The core of the editorial is a call-to-action: "[A]s nations around the world begin to rebuild from the pandemic, it is clear that we also have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change our tune."
Then came a phrase that would repeat over and over in my mind for months: "The Great Reset". That's what World Economic Forum Founder and Executive Chairman, Klaus Schwab, calls this particular moment in time, when the dysfunctions of the status quo have been laid bare by a pandemic and economic crisis and, as humans resume many activities, we have a rare opportunity to make the kind of foundational changes that enable a healthier, sustainable, and just world.
The Nov. 2 issue of Time magazine was done in partnership with the WEF. With the support of HRH The Prince of Whales, Schwab has initiated a global movement around the idea of a Great Reset. It pushes for changes in areas such as industry, economics, environmental policy, social contracts, and global partnerships all in an effort to emerge from the current crisis into a better world.
When the pandemic began, my wife Hillary and I were living in Seattle with a new baby. I was teaching at Bastyr University and seeing patients in our clinic, and Hillary was just starting to come off maternity leave and see patients again herself.
Over the preceding year or two, we had begun to wonder if our situation in Seattle was sustainable. Cost of living and home prices had skyrocketed, and an exploding tech scene had amped the city up into an uncharacteristic mania of "do more with less". Even my university, a leader in sustainable health practices, had cut staff and salaries and increased workloads.
When stay-at-home orders were issued and the scope of the pandemic became clear, Hillary and I both had the same epiphany: We should get out. Now.
Like many socially responsible Americans and small business owners, we were willing to climb into a hole to serve the public health and emerge only when the pandemic was contained. What we weren't willing to do, was return to a situation that was unhealthy for reasons no one cared to change. We were going to use this opportunity to find a better one. So, over the next couple months, we packed up our life, closed our business, and left.
That's why Schwab's idea captivated me. My family was in a Great Reset. We had an opportunity to change more than our location. What if we finally dropped some of the dysfunctional work, personal, and social habits that have been keeping us from peak health and happiness and replaced them with functional ones? For god's sake, we're scholars of Chinese Medicine, an ancient tradition of life-nourishing and disease-preventing practices. We know what needs to be done. Now's our chance. Just do it! Reset.
My name is Jonathan Day, and this is the blog for our new endeavor, Turtle Tree Acupuncture, in Louisville, KY. We settled here at the end of 2020 and are about to open our doors on May 1st, 2021. We want Turtle Tree to be more than a clinic. We want it to be a tribe - warm community of individuals who, like us, are ready to use holistic medicine, friendship, and the power of nature to fully heal and thrive in this modern world. We want it to be your Great Reset.
Thank you for reading!