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Zoomed Out, or, What To Do When Everyone You Know, Love, and Dream of a Better World With Is a One-inch Talking Head In a Pixelated Box

Laptop showing a video conference with four people, surrounded by books and notebooks.

Praise their presence, grieve their absence.
Grow in your capacity to be touched by other faces, and to not touch your own.
Look someone directly in the eyes (they won’t know) and send them love and a prayer for the wellbeing of everyone they care about.
Try to wrap your mind around how they got here, in front of you.
If that doesn’t spark radical amazement, try to explain how *you* got here, and who “you” is…
Wiggle your toes and watch the freshly budding tree rustle outside your window.
Envision that tree occupying one of the squares on the screen; ask what they would like to contribute to the conversation.
Take your dreams off of mute and drop your spells in the chat box.
Then, dazed by days online, unblock the gridlock with a tech Sabbath—
Recover three dimensions, reach for a fourth.
And remember, we’ll be back at the bonfire before long;
Gather your poetry, prepare your song.

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