Yo-Yo Ma on learning from the pandemic pause

In Sunday’s (5/9) Washington Post, Geoff Edgers interviews cellist Yo-Yo Ma about his life before, during, and after the pandemic. “Q: … You seem to pop up everywhere. Playing after getting your second vaccine shot. At a restaurant that’s struggling.… Yo-Yo Ma: For the first time in my life, I have a sense of what a regular life is … a life where I am not stressed…. It’s funny that the things that bring the greatest meaning actually are the things that are not efficient. When you’re cooking a great meal or you’re enjoying the meal, you’re not eating as fast as possible. You’re savoring, you’re having a conversation…. Q: As we move into another part of this pandemic … what are you thinking of doing? Ma: … If we’re thinking about a reset for people post-pandemic—what can give everybody legitimate hope that we could hold on to and work like crazy to go toward something in common—for me, it is about working our tails off toward an equilibrium … working with nature so that we in all things … actually join forces in finding a way to be in equilibrium so that we not only survive, but thrive.”