Most French people grew up with the famed La Fontaine fable about the ant struggling away during summer while the grasshopper is partying telling it to relax. Although La Fontaine gets the credit, the fable is far older. The Grasshopper and the Ant is one of Aesop's many Fables.

The gist is simple. The grasshopper enjoys the summer days. It parties, plays music, dances, eats, drinks, and simply has a jolly old time. It sees the ant scurrying away food, working all day long, rarely taking a break. It doesn't understand the ant at all. It asks it why won't it relax and enjoy the summer days. But the ant holds fast to its strict discipline and tells the grasshopper that it is planning ahead. The grasshopper makes fun of the ant and continues on with its debauchery.

That is... until winter comes along and the grasshopper is left with no food, cold, and hungry. The grasshopper asks the ant for help. Hence the moral of the story is about the virtue to work hard and plan ahead for rainy days.

Does this sound eerily familiar? Most US families start their month with no money in their bank accounts. They rely on working to pay for their credits. It's not too difficult to predict the outcome with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stay-at-home orders. It's easy to see how some are restless and worried about not being able to have for the four foundations; food, shelter, mobility, and utilities. So what will happen when many wake up in a few weeks with no resources?

Maybe this explains the back at work movement, although to the discerning, the excitement feels more like nefarious manipulations.

 A recent trip on Facebook made me realize how strange, odd, and even marvelous that social media platform is. It also made me realize I don't need to spend much time there. Enough to see how some friends are doing and ignore 97% of the rest.

It reminded me of a lesson we all learn in math. In the known Universe, a positive and positive equal a positive. A positive and a negative equal a negative. And in all cases, a negative and a negative equals a negative. I'm not sure why anyone would go on Facebook or any social media to add negativity to an otherwise very negative situation.

I'm not a saint nor anyone perfect. Mea culpa, I've added my oil to the fire when the economic monster was rolling along smoothly and most people shrugged it off as a "necessary evil" -- whatever that means. But lately, I've had plenty of times to reread Daoist texts, as well a Hermetics, and many others. With all the changes happening in our society and how a virus has brought the world to its knees, I wonder how adding negativity to a negative situation helps?

I know. What a strange post. Perhaps, that's what life is all about. Realizing the obvious, writing it down, and anchoring the light within so that it continues the swell of that light wave washing over the world.

This little COVID-19 virus that is bringing everything to its knees is also highlighting the fragility of out multi-billion dollar businesses and showing the cracks in leadership around the world.

There isn't a day that goes by without hearing something controversial on COVID-19. Real news mixes with fake news to a never-ending stream of maybes, new discoveries, and shocking horror stories compiled on top of a few struggling good news.

Without naming any stories, I welcome Monday afternoons as a neighbor of ours who plays in the city Symphonie plays with his children on their porch.

But with all of this confusion, one thing stands out. How have we come here? How did we get here? How did we let things get so bad an administration blocks much needed protective gear from first responders? Local leaders have been, well, less than stellar. Busines that until last year were rolling in money are now begging governments for money?

In all these leadership failures, I find two things extremely interesting. Countries run by women fared the pandemic better than by men. Taiwan was prepared since 2003. Locals are engaging more than ever questioning their previous lifestyles. And politicians fight for elections as if the world hadn't changed.

The child in me doesn't understand how we go here when it was screaming against complacency. It's difficult to see beauty and ugliness at the same time. Maybe that's what they meant when they said Earth was an amazing kaleidoscope of activities and events.