Living with Corona

Pandemic! Probably foolish of me to believe I wouldn’t have lived through one in this lifetime. The maleficent people in power, definitely sitting around their oval table, are taking no breaks and are not playing around.

(I’m one for conspiracy theories, so indulge me.)

You can feel people are on edge. And there’s only one subject they engage in when approached. The only thing that’s on people’s minds now. Everyone has their own theories, whereas I actually believe the truth behind the curtains will never be accessible to us.

One thing is for sure: our ancestors definitely had it worse.

(insert meme)

I mean all I have to do is stay where I usually would have wanted to stay anyway: at home. Never mind that the economy is going down in the meanwhile. Never mind that I’ve got no job to go back to and that getting income will definitely be a struggle for millions in the upcoming months… 🤷🏻‍♀️. And yes… people are dying.

And then starts the finger-pointing and the association of groups:

• “The Conscious” ones, who know the right thing to do is stay inside; not for themselves as a precautionary step per se, but as the kind Samaritans they are, protecting “the Others”.

• “The Others” – the ungrateful; “unconscious” who get ridiculed for having way too dull of a motive to go outside in the quarantine zone, WHEN the authorities have CLEARLY initiated a country-wide lock-down.

We’re all just people… How ‘bout you do what you think the right thing is and ignore judging situations you know nothing about?

Then, there’s also the ones hoarding food, to which I only have one thing to say: You may be low-key stealing food now, but you will be fat when self-isolation time is over! Ha ha. Which will just show… you’re wealthy… damn it, it’s still not a win.

And it’s definitely hard, while being locked inside, not to constantly check our phones for the latest news, not to talk to friends and judge what others are doing by gossiping: “Omg, I know, look what I saw the other day…” “Omg, I just don’t understand why people just don’t understand the serious conditions we’re under…” Blah blah. “Going to watch my Netflix now. Bye.”

Only to get hung up on boredom, be stuck in the same “Corona” world, with nothing to look forward to in the following days. Wow, kinda similar to before, actually.

Well, I know for a fact that most people used to complain about not having enough time to get all their affairs sorted out. Well now… we have it. Not in the most desirable of contexts, but, nonetheless, this could be considered… freedom. The freedom to do whatever we want, for how long we want… kinda. Maybe this is exactly the time we need to get insight into different aspects of our life (like coping with loneliness, with apparent lack of activities, with apparent constraining of free movement or whatever else bothers you in regards to this situation). Sometimes we need to choose to be alone to our own benefit; it just so happens that the choice is being made for us now.

For me personally, this lovely pandemic has disrupted my life plan, as I am sure it has for many others as well. It forced me to switch countries, making me completely uncertain about my independence and career path. However, I’m still locked in my house. And not gonna lie, spent 3 days making trips only in between my bedroom and kitchen (and maybe toilet), feeling like I had come to an end and hit rock bottom. But I think we’re looking at this all wrong.

We. Are. Still. Locked. In. Our. Houses.

How can we make the best of it? What can I learn, how can I grow, what opportunities are there to seize?

For, to the keen eye, opportunities will always arise.

What are the things I wanted to do and used ‘lack of time’ as an excuse not to?

It’s making me realize that lack of time was never the actual motive. For what could be my reason for procrastinating now? I can start on whatever I want right now.

How can I make peace with the fact that I am alone during this time of isolation?

Make use of this time; It is the time for replenishing a massive dose of energy and rekindling the connection with the self within.

So take your 3-layered toilet paper and other commodities and make something worth it out of this whole situation. Even if it’s just prayer for the ones who need it right now. Help others by helping yourself.

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There’s always something to do.

A.