Hello, my name is Tomos Roberts and I'm gonna be reading for
you The Great Realization.
[MUSIC]
Tell me the one about the virus again, then we'll go to bed.
But my boy you're growing weary sleepy thoughts about your head.
Please, that one's my favorite.
I promise just once more.
Take me back to 2020, that's all I'm asking for.
Okay, snuggle down, my boy,
though I know you know full well the story starts before then.
In a world I once would dwell.
[MUSIC]
It was a world of waste and wonder, of poverty and plenty.
Back before we understood why hindsight's 2020.
You see, the people came up with companies to trade across all lands.
But they swelled and got much bigger than we ever could have planned.
[MUSIC]
We'd always had our wants, but now it got so quick.
You could have anything you dreamed of in a day, and with a click.
We noticed families had stopped talking.
That's not to say they never spoke.
But the meaning must have melted, and the work life balance.
And the children's eyes grew squarer, and every toddler had a phone.
They filtered out the imperfections, but amidst the noise, they felt alone.
[MUSIC]
Every day the skies grew thicker, till you couldn't see the stars.
So we flew in planes to find them, while down below, we filled our cars.
We'd drive around all day in circles.
We'd forgotten how to run.
We swapped the grass for tarmac, shrunk the parks till there were none.
We filled the sea with plastic, because our waste was never capped.
Until each day when you went fishing you'd pull them out, already wrapped.
And while we drank and smoked and gambled, our leaders taught us why,
it's best to not upset the lobbies, more convenient to die.
[MUSIC]
But then in 2020 a new virus came our away.
The government's reacted and told us all to hide away.
But while we all were hidden, amidst the fear, and
all the while we dusted off our instincts.
We remembered how to smile.
We started clapping to say thank you, and calling up our moms.
And while the car keys gathered dust, we would look forward to our runs.
And with the skies less for the voyages, the Earth began to breathe.
And the beaches bore new wildlife that scuttled off into the seas.
[MUSIC]
Some people start to dance, some were singing, some were baking.
We'd grown so used to bad news, but there was good news in the making.
Old habits became extinct and they made way for the new.
And every simple act of kindness was now given its due.
And so when we found the cure, and were allowed to go outside.
We all preferred the world we found, to the one we'd left behind.
But why did it take a virus to bring the people back together?
Well, sometimes you get sick, my boy, before you start feeling better.
So lie down and dream of tomorrow.
And all the things that we can do.
And who knows, if you dream hard enough, maybe some of them will come true.
We now call it The Great Realization.
And yes, since then there have been many.
But that's the story of how it started, and why hindsight's 2020