Richard Hogan: Connection with other people is as important as food or shelter

This virus attacked the very thing that binds us, our need for connection

Richard Hogan: After a year of disrupted relationships and disconnected familial interactions, we have seen first-hand the importance of healthy and connected relational dynamics. This virus attacked the very thing that binds us, our need for connection.

This week marked the return of 5th-year students to school. After a long cold lonely winter (as the song goes) summer approaches with the promise of so much. Of course, with all this talk of variants and vaccine targets being delayed, we have all looked ahead with reserved optimism. But we can finally begin to see light. 

The HSE is moving through its priority list and as of today, nearly everyone over 85 years old has received the vaccine. Also, the infection rate among front-line workers has dropped by 90%. So things are moving steadily in the right direction. There is light at the end of this long Covid tunnel. But the question remains, what sort of world are we returning to? The Greek writer Heraclitus proffers, 'no man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.’ When we confidently step outside, and step back into the river of humanity, just who will we be? And what lessons have we learned?