Our norm quickly changed. Schools, movie theatres, restaurants, and eventually, even the parks, closed. COVID-19 and shelter-in-place quickly took away many of the things many in our society may take for granted. These drastic changes were enough to easily challenge our mental and emotional health.
While many things were being taken away, Mother Nature never stopped giving.
The tie-dye sky continued to come to comfort its watchers at the end each day.
The portrait worthy sunset seen from the hill along Keller Ave, just above the flatlands of East Oakland, remains a sight for even socially distancing eyes.
The birds still soar above the marina in Oakland’s neighboring city, Emeryville.
In Alameda, another neighbor, the sunset disappearing behind the beach’s sandy shore bids a sweet farewell to the lone masked walker.
All the while, the purple blooming on Oakland’s Brookdale Ave delights the eyes of those strolling along this now “slow street.”
Though striving to find reflections of our before “normal” can be mentally and emotionally draining, one can find solace in the daily doses of normality Mother Nature continues to offer us.
Amelah El-Amin is a mother, grandmother, and African American Muslim human rights activist. She has been serving our community for over 25 years. She co-founded Mu’eed, Inc, a non-profit which has coordinated Humanitarian Day in Oakland for the past 11 years, a program which services homeless residents and low-income children. In addition to feeding the hungry, she advocates for elderly. Amelah El-Amin is a correspondent for Oakland Voices.
Nice.