COVID-19 has caused so much misery to a lot of people and I won't start to list them otherwise I'll cry in despair, longing for everything to be like it used to really really soon. At times, it leaves me in a perpetual state of tedium, bewilderment and desperation that I wish all this was merely a very long nightmare and everything would be right in its place in the morning. I bet I'm not alone, a lot of people must feel a sense of anxiousness and hopelessness in these strange times too. Yet, social distancing has brought to me several heartening consequences I rarely thought existed before. These are a few:
The existence of physical distance does not equate to the existence of emotional distance
We are forced to commit to a bunch of LDRs with a lot of people; may that be with our significant other, friends, or colleagues. The thought of being only a few minutes away from someone yet unable to meet them is so new and heartbreaking. But, thanks to those state-of-the-art tech inventions - NetPar, Zoom, Google Hangouts, you name it, we can explore and discover various ways to have a quality time with someone. Instead of being stuck in traffic and losing all the time we will never get back, we can cherish those extra minutes or hours to do things that are more meaningful, and being connected with our loved ones is probably one of them (it is for me). Sometimes, we run so fast that we forget to stop for awhile and connect with those that matter to us. Maybe we have interlaced with Joaquin Phoenix's timeline in Her. Maybe this is a phase where we are starting to incorporate the highly advanced operating system in the movie into our lives (okay stop right there, Ina).
To be stuck in one's room sometimes means finding oneself
The experiences of going out to the world, meeting people and facing strange occurrences have always allowed me to find something new about myself. Who would've thought that being stuck in my room could give me an avalanche of new perspectives. There I am, finding myself through leaked rays from the windowpanes. I started to catch up on the things I left behind; productivity and self-pampering keep me company nowadays. New hobbies sprang up, old hobbies were found once again. I started to read even more than I had been before the fast-paced lifestyle took over most of my spare time. I cook with a little bit more effort now, at least more than just cooking something edible like I used to when I lived alone. And at last, I started to write again, or ramble if I must say so.
The small things that are normally overlooked or taken for granted suddenly emerge in front of us, and seize our attention. Not because they were not there, or because they transformed themselves into things that are more appealing to us, but because we are forced to slow down, not to search but to look deeper in this new normal. Now, we take the time to appreciate the little things that make up our surroundings.
Without realizing it, this pandemic has given me a space to amplify personal growth, and I only hope the same for you too.
Stay safe and strong ❤
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