Jonathan Krause

About this Offering

With the intense amount of isolation that Covid-19 necessitates, it is mandatory to find ways to connect with yourself and those around you. For me, this came in the form of my family that I still live with while not at college. They have been a tremendous help to me navigating my first semester away from home and have always been there to rely on when I need it. The enormous time alone from friends and family can make a person over-critical of themselves and their goals. It is necessary to take a step back and acknowledge your humanity and your love for yourself. The first song, "I Will Be Gentle With Myself" by Libana, is sung by my family and me and touches on these themes of self-forgiveness and self-love.

While all of this turmoil surrounding the pandemic has transpired, the recent calls for equality and equity for BIPOC people everywhere have sounded. This message, intertwined with protests calling to Defund the Police, still resounds many months later without any real change or justice enacted. The call to action of defunding the police became watered down to "reforming" it, ignoring the racist systems that the US police system has upheld throughout history and continues to support. The second song is sung again by my family: "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan, signifies this need for change for me. While our society still has a long way to go, it is encouraging to see the unifying of our country around the cause of combatting racism.

Daily Peace Action

After viewing these two songs recorded from my family just having fun, I encourage everyone to go out and continue to find ways to connect with your family or chosen family. Maybe that's just calling them and reminding them to "be gentle with [themselves]." You could even share that song with them as a mantra they could adopt when they're feeling stressed. It could be finding ways to have fun, sing together, or finding creative ways to continue to be in each other's lives while staying safe from the pandemic. You could organize them to have a virtual party together to write to your local state representatives to tell them your thoughts on social justice and how they should vote on upcoming bills. If you find ways to connect with other people that make you happy, then you are making the world a happier place.