David Byrne writes about coronavirus: "nothing is normal anymore."

David Byrne, like the rest of us, has been self-quarantining as the coronavirus pandemic rages throughout the world. “For almost two weeks I’ve been stuck at home,” he writes. “I assume many of you have been, too. It’s felt pretty disorienting to suddenly find myself at arm’s length from the world. I decided to write something about it –– a few thoughts about what connects us all when physical presence can’t.”

“As we do at Reasons To Be Cheerful,” he continues, “I looked to see how other countries and cities were addressing this problem. Were they successful? Some of them were. Can we learn from them? Can we change? We can.”

He published the resulting essay in part in the Wall Street Journal, and you can also read it in full on Reasons to be Cheerful. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s ironic that as the pandemic forces us into our separate corners, it’s also showing us how intricately we are all connected. It’s revealing the many ways that our lives intersect almost without our noticing. And it’s showing us just how tenuous our existence becomes when we try to abandon those connections and distance from one another. Health care, housing, race, inequality, the climate — we’re all in the same leaky boat.

Read the whole thing here.