Last weekend the Spanish government extended the quarantine again for another two weeks, leaving us in this holding pattern until at least April 26. For those of us who were climbing the walls after the first three weeks at home, it may feel as if it’s the end of the world; but as odd as it may sound, I think there’s an upside to quarantine if we allow ourselves to see it.
I received a delivery this morning; I’d just woken up and was in desperate need of coffee. Still wearing the same yoga pants I wore yesterday, I answered the door. I braced myself for the usual uncomfortable interaction: this is the same delivery guy who unfailingly prolongs the delivery experience to flirt while I’m standing there in my pajamas. It drives me crazy.
Today, he rang the bell and jumped back three feet as I answered the door. Standing as far away as humanly possible, he extended his arm to its full length to present me with my delivery. As soon as I touched the package, he fled. No lingering or unwanted small talk.
Suddenly I was in an unexpectedly good mood, and it started me thinking. The situation is what it is, so without making light of a serious situation or of the importance of taking safety precautions—shouldn’t we at least try to see the silver lining of this rather dark situation? The delivery guy not telling me he likes my yoga pants today was a definite plus. I started making a list of other “pros” in this time of so many “cons.”
In times of trouble, we are reminded of the network we have and of the people we can count on. We remember to value the friends and family who call to check on us, even though they’re going through their own private dramas. We are reminded of the importance of community. We also remember the people with whom we haven’t spoken in a while. Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from a friend in the US with whom I hadn’t had a conversation in five years. We talked for an hour and a half.
Difficult times help us separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s easy to see whose instinct is to help each other, versus individuals whose reaction is to look out for their own interests regardless of the impact on others.
Being stuck at home gives us time: Time to study. Time to try yoga, or to use a language app to finally start learning Catalan, Spanish, Italian, or Arabic. Time to play an instrument, paint, or draw. Time to experiment with recipes. Time to get back to analog activities and take a break from our screens, once we get tired of all the bad news and the coronavirus memes. Maybe we take a moment to listen to music with our eyes closed, or to read a book that’s printed on actual paper. We are forced to slow down, now that we aren’t able to run from home to work to the gym to a social event to visit our in-laws… and so on. Though many of us are working remotely, when work is done for the day we discover that we have time for ourselves and for our immediate family.
Speaking of work, the quarantine has forced us to get creative in business, whether that means adapting to working remotely, searching for new opportunities, or reaching customers online in a novel way. We are forced to get creative in our personal lives too, by finding new ways to entertain our children at home or having coffee or wine with friends via Skype, Facetime or Zoom.
We appreciate certain professions more than we ever did before, for example the doctors and nurses who are on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic. We appreciate our teachers, now that the kids are at home 24/7. We value musicians and other creative professionals, who are offering free concerts and classes online to keep our spirits up during this difficult time. Many of us have even had an unexpected opportunity to get to know our neighbors. I’ve met more people who live on balconies adjacent to my building than I ever had before quarantine.
Because our physical reality is smaller, we see the world around us with new eyes. Even though we are busy with work and family, there are moments when we stop. We lean out the window, listening to the sound of the wind in the trees in the city’s new silence. We notice the spring green of the park across the street, or the detail of the façade of the building across the way.
Quarantine gives us time to reassess. The economic situation is stable for some, but for many it’s anything but, and this forces us to question what the future holds. While this uncertainty may be frightening, it also provides us with the opportunity to make lifestyle changes or even consider changing careers when this is all over. Change is never easy, but it helps us to grow.
Quarantine life forces us to think. Maybe a global problem that affects people of all nations, ages, races, and belief systems will help us to stop living in our own little bubbles. In the age of Brexit and a global trend towards nationalism, maybe we will choose to put politics and religion aside for a moment and stop fighting each other all the time.
Emergencies puts things in perspective. They help us to appreciate what we have. They help us realize what we want to or have to change in order to move forward once all this is over.
The pandemic is not a good thing, and quarantine is not something we would choose. I don’t want to minimize the economic or psychological impact this situation is having on all of us, but like tiny stars shining in the darkness, maybe we can find a little good in all the bad.
We will get through this. My hope is that we will come out on the other side a little wiser, a little stronger, a little better.
-Tori Sparks