Silver linings in the time of Corona

I’m collecting inspirational stories of how people the world over are dealing with being quarantined, what they’ve experienced and how this crisis is changing them. I will add them here to my blog as I find them. 

In any disaster, there are always silver linings. There’s always something to be grateful for, no matter how hard things get. Of course there’s also fear, anger, bargaining —all the stages of grief. Those are part of the human condition. But so is joy, laughter and sometimes even rising up from the ashes.

Important note:  These posts aren’t meant to downplay the crisis that’s unfolding around us—us meaning the entire human race.  They in no way take away from the very real pain, fear and grief that so many are feeling.  They’re meant to uplift, inspire and show that life goes on, even in tragedy.   We are literally—the entire world—all in this together. 

My first story is from the fabulous Jenny Simanowitz, in her own words:

I get up and shower, put cream on my face and deodorant under my arms. Why do I wear deodorant? Nobody’s going to get near enough to smell me. For that matter why bother to shower? Every day? Probably no one needs to shower every day anyway and much less in a time when the only person you’re going to meet is yourself. The cream, ok, that’s understandable, that’s an investment for when we will again be meeting our friends, going out for dinner or working and we don’t want to expose a fully withered, wrinkled face to the world.

But why change clothes every two days? For whom? I’ve heard that some people are staying in their pajamas all day. I find that perfectly sensible. It saves washing and it saves time. Or rather, it saves washing because the last thing we want is to save time. On the contrary, we are looking to do things that take as much time as possible. People have started taking baths instead of showers. They say it’s to relax but I think that they’re doing it to prolong the washing period, which isn’t necessary anyway (see above)

And cleaning the apartment. I’ve read proud accounts of appartments that are shining like never before. Not a trace of a cat hair or a breadcrumb or a scrap paper anywhere! I say, what’s the point? Nobody’s coming to visit anyway.

I also put on my hearing aid as soon as I get up although I probably won’t be talking to anyone for hours. I don’t need my hearing aid sitting at my computer. But it’s habit, maybe even a good one because I believe your hearing gets worse f you don’t wear it.

We’ve been trained in these rituals and we hang on to them. It’s a good education in how we humans hang on to our habits even if they no longer serve a purpose.

Some rituals certainly help you to keep sane in this time of isolation. I do a bit of yoga every day, I go for a walk, I prepare at least one tasty meal although I’m the only one eating it (my partner is doing his crisis time in Portugal) and theoretically I could live on fried eggs on toast. I’m so used to cooking meals for two that I cook far too much. Then I eat it all up, more from boredom than from hunger.

And because it takes more time.