I’ve lost track of the weeks since the Covid-19 pandemic swooped in and changed my life. I could tally up the trips I’d expected to take, mark the weekends I’d planned to volunteer with an outdoor program, but that seems like an unhealthy direction to dwell. I could count the loaves of raisin bread I’ve baked and eaten, or look up the number of times I’ve used my yoga app, or the video selfies I’ve taken of my quarantine trapeze. I could add up all the hours I’ve spent on video conference, add in the number of people I’ve interviewed and hired without ever meeting face to face, and think back fondly to the time at the beginning of all this when connecting with friends by zoom still felt like a connection, and virtual happy hour still felt happy. Are you depressed yet? Me too.
How then, to mark the accumulation of time, honor the present, and reflect on the past? My answer (with a side of cultural appropriation) is senbazuru— 1,000 origami cranes. In Japanese tradition, anyone who folds 1,000 cranes is granted a wish, or good luck. Somebody who is ill may be given a 1,000 cranes as a wish for their recovery. Senbazuru is also an iconic offering to the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, in honor of Sadako Sasaki, who died of leukemia at the age of 12 as a result of radiation exposure from the atomic bomb. During her final illness, Sadako folded cranes with a wish for world peace, and today people around the world who share her vision follow her example in her memory.
I enjoy the precise, repeated motions of folding an origami crane. During intense workdays when I’m spending hours on the phone, I can let my hands wander while my mind is focused. On the other side, when I’m trying to relax and defocus, it gives work for my hands while I let my mind wander. My current count is 640– more than halfway there.
What will I do when they’re done? I’m not sure. I’m not doing this because I want to decorate my home with 1,000 paper cranes, nor as an offering or tribute to any specific cause. I like the idea of donating them with a wish for peace and healing, but I have another 360 cranes of journey before I need to make a decision about the destination.