The second wave is now a fact. It was a fact already, of course, but the measures taken now make it tangible. It touches all of us and it forces everyone to review their situation and to focus on the now, on today, on the moment. The fear and uncertainty strike again and the polarisation of old versus young, healthy versus sick, ‘wise’ against ‘stupid’ are gaining momentum. We blame the virus, but if we hadn’t dismantled our societies the way we did, we would have been able to handle things better.

The autumn forest shows none of that hectic. The forest follows the seasons, with outliers through warm, cold, wet or dry weather. The achestnuts are smaller and drier this year. Mushrooms are mushrooming (sorry, pun intended). There is quiet, a few wanderers walk who keep a social distance, even here. The cool and stillness of the forest make the body and the mind relax.

It makes me think that this will also pass, that every age has its challenges and that we will move on from here.it makes me think of a poem the German writer Heinrich Böll wrote for his granddaughter.