BERG

In many ways this corona virus crisis is like an iceberg.  While we see it floating through our current history we all sense that there's more that we can't see.  More that's invisible but attached to what's visible, and very dangerous. This partly comes from the reports of the symptoms of the virus and how contagious it is.  The worst thing being that people can be infectious and not have any symptoms. That's one iceberg. 

The other is what's unseen.  No one knows where it's going and how much damage it may be doing to our liberties, lifestyles, and the economy. It feels like it's moving along based on the currents of the expert opinions and the charts.  An iceberg isn't steered and neither is this virus. All we can do is steer ourselves and keep away from the risks as much as possible.

The most common use of the word "berg" is as a suffix to "ice", as in "iceberg".  This refers to the large floating islands of ice that we all know are larger under the water than what we see above. They are resting places for some animals, like polar bears, but they are also dangerous to run into by sea going vessels.  (I'm not sure how this relates to "iceberg lettuce" and I"m not researching that.)  

The word "berg" has it's origins in northern Europe and refers to a mountainous region. This makes perfect sense since most icebergs do look like mountains floating in the ocean.  Their shape is taken on by the water melting the parameter and making the center even more pointed.  

This is different than the word "burg" that refers to an area that has a castle. Google says, "In the German language, Burg means castle or fortress, though so many towns grew up around castles that it almost came to mean city, and is incorporated into many place names, such as Hamburg, Flensburg and Strasburg." 

The only castle or fortress we have where the virus is concerned is that of our own making.  By social distancing, washing our hands, and following the guidelines we are told that this is the best we can do. We are all holed up in our castles as our fortresses against the risk of the virus and waiting for the iceberg to completely melt away, as they always do.  

I'm praying for this one to melt away very soon and go away completely!   

---