Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I just checked the city of Somerville website, and they're not reopening phase 3 step 1 businesses until July 20. The state as a whole moved to that stage this past Monday, and Boston is doing so Monday, July 13.

I no longer live in Somerville, but am following their guidelines specifically because they're more cautious than the state as a whole.

This probably doesn't affect anything I'd be likely to do, but it's a further note of caution with regard to things that were in phase 2 (either part): do I take the bus to the outdoor farmers market? Is Trader Joe's too high a risk? (Groceries are essential businesses, but we've been getting all our groceries delivered, with the exception of the pastries I bought when I was in Davis Square on Thursday to see my doctor.

Tracking all this is complicated in part because what is in which phase, and how many phases there are, varies widely. At first glance Massachusetts has a four-phase plan. But phase 2 was divided into two steps, and phase 3 will have at least two parts. And then -- I hope -- we wait for a vaccine or real treatment for COVID-19 before moving into a "new normal" that will still involve less physical contact with other people than in the Before Times.

I put on a mask this morning, watered the plants (calling hello to a neighbor who was exercising several yards away) and went for a walk around the neighborhood. In Belmont masks are strongly advised when going for a walk, but required only indoors or anywhere you can't maintain social distancing; I'm wearing mine even when it's not required, if I go further than the yard or front porch.

It's a little weird to realize that the best thing I can do right now, possibly for myself and certainly for other people, is a lack of action. Stay home almost all the time, and avoid coming within two meters of anyone except cattitude if I do go outside.

It seems as though "doing nothing effectively" isn't a good translation of the Taoist concept of wu wei, but Chinese or not, it's what most of us are being asked to do.

To those of you with essential jobs who are going out and doing them during the pandemic: thank you.

We're pretty well supplied for not going out for a week: I'll run out of yogurt and have to eat cereal for breakfast, and Cattitude might run out of cold cuts and breakfast on hard-boiled eggs, but this is barely a nuisance. I probably have another dairy milk for my tea, and if not there's soy milk.