I made yoghurt again on the weekend. Our new yoghurt maker produces very good thick Greek yoghurt. I have to make a new batch every four days to keep the bacteria alive, but we usually eat it up in a few days anyhow.

Across town, my daughter-in-law made her first loaf of sourdough bread from a starter she’s been cultivating. My son said they had some of the sourdough for breakfast on Sunday with butter and honey. It was delicious. 

So this is what I’ve been thinking about: how so many of us are busy taming tiny one-celled yeast into bread and tiny one-celled bacteria into yoghurt. 

As meanwhile an even tinier virus ravages the world. 

We’re harnessing the bacteria and yeast so we can eat, and in my case to stop buying plastic yoghurt tubs. 

But I also find wonder what’s going on subconsciously. We’re vibrating with the knowledge of an invisible molecule that moves through the air and lands on us, or doorknobs, or shopping cart handles–just about anywhere, really. In response we tame other invisible entities, turning them to good. There’s something Freudian about it.

Of course, most of Freud’s theories have been discredited. He was good with metaphors, though, and this one might be worth thinking about. 

That’s all I’ve got right now.