Coronaviral
Before I start my actual post, I wanted to take time to acknowledge every person who is going through a deeply traumatizing experience because of this virus; may it be loss, caregiving, violence, tiredness or any other trauma inducing story. If this is you, please know that it’s ok to not be ok, to not be strong or denying your own feelings to yourself. Live every minute for what it is and if feeling shit is what you need, then you do that. And please do reach out to anyone if you need help!
I would also like to salute every single one of you out in the fore front looking after all of us in your own way, making sacrifices for the greater good of people you don’t even know –there is not a single ounce of me who could come close to explaining how truly incredible you are and how much you matter. Thank youS –yes plural..- probably sound repetitive and unworthy but apart from respecting the government rules, this is the only thing I can come up with. Thank you.
Happy Birthday to you…Happy Birthday to you…Hap..! Oh wait I’m not washing my hands.
Well, it is official, we have definitely entered this new decade… but more than a new decade, it feels like a new era. Rest assured, this post is not another anxiety-inducing article about this stupid virus and how it has literally taken over the world. On the contrary; forced to go into full introspection mode, I have had this strange tickle telling me this might only be the start of a small revolution – or maybe it’s purely that I have lost the plot after smelling so much antibacterial spray.
To be completely honest, I wasn’t sure which angle to take for this post. If you’re here, it means you have access to the Internet and therefore you must have seen many different people, on many different social media talking about their many different views on this whole pandemic. I shall not get into the nitty-gritty of the whole “media sell fear”- although I have stuff to say! – but rather the beauty I noticed in this weird period.
So I guess I decided not to share my own views as such, but rather to focus on the positive things coming up for me during this time – let’s face it, we don’t really care what I think, we just care about the outlook I can bring!
Because the world we hear about on TV isn’t – and has never been – the limit to our own existence. It is scary, it is unexpected and untimely. But, whilst we cannot ignore all the awfulness going on in the world, let me tell you what I’d like to think my world is also like right now.
MY world is:
Families becoming whole again.
Kids coming home to their parents.
Parents discovering their kids.
It’s meals being prepared together, it’s fathers holding their daughters.
It’s laughs from the heart
Or exhaustion from parents raising their future.
Friends and families putting their differences aside.
MY world is also:
Grandparents getting checked on more than ever.
Lovers cut out of reality through love.
Prank videos and movie nights.
Arguments over toilet seats and virtual weddings.
A stranger shopping for someone’s grandma.
and Facebook groups being created for help around your area.
Neighbours getting to know each other whilst clapping outside their door.
Balcony parties and street reunions.
Birds singing louder than ever because we can hear them
whilst the planet is taking a rest for a little while.
And finally, MY world is:
Strangers saying hello to each other on the street
and everyone’s excuses getting tested.
People getting back in touch with their creativity,
Workers being recognized for their true value and not studies.
Someone labeled “weirdo” not having to fit the mold for a day.
and people just taking the time to rest their souls for today.
Hopefully, you also think this is your world somehow; somewhere. Because if this virus has proven one thing, it is that we are all interconnected and much more dependent on one another than we would like to admit. It has also reinstated my personal faith in humanity as well as shown that in the face of, what I will qualify as Nature, we are but mere humans.
Once again, I wasn’t sure where to go with this. And if anything, I hope that for the few minutes it took you to read this – if you’ve made up to here – that you could find a glimpse of hope through everything you might be battling with right now. You are not alone, you never really are and I hope you can now see this.
Take care of yourself please, from the inside out. Your world – Our world – depends on it.
A.