THINKING FORWARD; ALONE TOGETHER IN QUARANTINE.
I have done no survey on this, neither am I a psychic who can read minds, but I can predict to a degree of certainty that if a hundred humans home were asked about how they felt (or what they thought) about the currently imposed quarantining, ninety of them would respond that they felt either anxious, or bored, or grieved, or depressed, fear or any other negative emotion you could think of. [In fact let's do a quick survey - why don't you tell us how you feel during this quarantine period, in the comment section.]
This feeling is not unfounded. All of us for the first time in our lifetime, are experiencing a major adjustment in the way we live our daily lives. Never before, at least not in the past one hundred years, has there been a disease as widespread as this. There have been outbreaks here and there and small bouts of pandemics, but never one as far reaching and as devastating as the novel coronavirus. The global healthcare system has never been this overwhelmed, with more deaths daily than recoveries recorded. Psychologists are only for the first time studying a global case of isolation and so cannot convincingly counsel us on how we can maintain our mental hygiene. Economists have never had their theories tipped to a large scale to give adequate advice on how to redeem the crashing economy. What we currently suffer from is not just the novelty of a virus itself, but also the novelty it causes in every other aspect of human life. And so it's not unfounded that people should feel stressed or anxious or depressed. You would have to be either a sociopath or the Buddha not to be experiencing any of these emotions.
Is it possible though, that even as all is not well, there may be a glint of good in this gutter, that the grass is also green on this side of the divide, that there are stars shining even in this night? A quote attributed to Joseph Campbell says that where we stumble is where we ought to dig for gold. Is it possible that this stumbling of ours is an indication that there is gold just beneath our feet, waiting to be found?
"What good can come of this situation?", the skeptical you may say, but perhaps there is. It's a gamble then. If so, then we could bet on the good, in a way similar to Pascal's wager. If there isn't any good in the situation, then there's no loss really, we're already in a losing game. If there's some good however, then there's some gain and perhaps much more good and gain than "some". Let's gamble then, shall we?
Speaking of Pascal, in his book "Pensees", he observes that the sole cause of man's unhappiness as regard his activities, lies in his inability to sit quietly in his room.
Pascal believed that most of man's activities are mere diversions to keep his mind off the things that really matters to him and bugs him. That is why, Pascal continues, men are so fond of hustle and bustle, why prison is such a fearful punishment and pleasures of solitude are incomprehensible. Perhaps then this period affords us a pascaline privilege to ponder about the things that pester our minds; family, life, love, meaning etc. Perhaps committing this time to think about all these could affect our lives in a way that is really beneficial for us.
Maybe also, it's a time for resting. I mean real resting, not the four-hour night sleep with intermittent turning and tossing, and all the worries in the world looming in our subconscious, waiting for us to wake and work us up into another daily drudge of duties. It's rather paradoxical that we claim to work in order that we may rest, because it's quite clear (especially now) that we in fact do not desire rest. A lot of us still complain about wanting to return to a busy life. We're like hunters after the hare, and like most hunters, what we desire is neither the hare nor the hunt, we just do not want to be labelled "not busy". Give a hunter an hare every morning on the premise that he no longer goes hunting and you will have only cajouled him into depression. Make him hunt all day in a forest bare of hares and he'll soon be bored and dissatisfied. Without the delusion that we're doing something worthwhile, without the dose of dopamine getting shot right through our vein everytime we complete some activity, our life seems less worthy. We judge our worthiness from the standpoint of how productive we are. The anthem is this; "I do, therefore I am". It may sound odd, note however that even though the opposite of work is rest, the opposite of rest is not work, it's stress. According to the Centers for Disease Control, insufficient rest is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression. For our own sake, to use the words of Brene Brown (researcher, writer and professor of social work), we have to let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self worth and then begin to cultivate the habit of resting in order to live a more fulfilled life.
Now this may sound counterintuitive to the preceding paragraph, but maybe it's also a time to learn something. A skill perhaps, if the resources aren't scarce at the moment. A language maybe, for those who desire to but haven't had the chance. You could also just read a self help book, something to prepare you to better face the world when we're eventually over this. It could be anything really. For me, my best moments of creativity have been moments of boredom. Up unto the last century, (before the Germans romanticized and hijacked it to be the result of man's sole effort and talent) creativity has always been thought of as something elusive of man. Elizabeth Gilbert (author of "Big Magic; Creative living beyond fear) defines it as the relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration. In fact the word "genius" which we often use to describe very creative people was the name given in ancient Rome to an imagined mythological spirit that accompanied every child at birth and was responsible for his natural abilities. The point I'm making here is that if creativity is something that comes to us from without, then we ought to be properly disposed to receive it. Boredom and Isolation creates an environment for that receptivity. For instance, I can write this article precisely because I'm bored enough to do so. And so it is with many of my creative works. Now, while it's important to not be pressured into doing any of these things, perhaps because of your mental health, it's also important that you do not stay idle for exactly the same reason. Getting to do some things, no matter how minimal it may be, helps you regain some level of control (over your life) which you may have lost as a result of the pandemic. It is important that you do not fall into the trap of what psychologists call "learned helplessness". Get up everyday and do something worthwhile.
It could also be that now we can connect with each other better than we used to. We may have been forced to stay apart from each other, but maybe we could still relate with each other in alternative but yet meaningful ways. As Cobhams suggests, we may not be able to shake hands with our neighbours, but we can blow them a kiss from afar. Throughout the world, there have been many stories of human generosity, solidarity and connectedness even amid the pandemic. The pandemic is bringing people alone together, in ways we've never dreamt of before. Families are bonding better, Governments are collaborating, Individuals are reaching out to each other. Personally, I've reached out to a lot of people that I ordinarily may have been too busy to reach. We're gradually realizing the essence of our shared humanity, and it's such a beautiful thing to behold. I do hope we can have more of this when things return to a new normal.
Photo by Edwin Ashitendoh
And so even though we're not in the best of situations, it's not untrue that there are some things we can do, not just in spite of the situation, but because of it. I've only listed a few that readily come to mind. You know, we can learn from emergency responders how to adapt to these types of situation. Unlike everyone else scampering away from a point of danger or inconvenience, emergency responders run towards it. For them it's an opportunity to be of value, to save a life or property, to be heroic. This situation can also be an opportunity of value for us if rather than complain, we embrace the isolation and try to see the good in it. There are many other things this quarantining affords us that I'm sure you my reader can think of. If you're willing to wager on the good in the situation, then you can find it. [Tell us also if you have any suggestions in the comment section]
By: Ogunkoya Oluwamuyiwa David.
Member of NIMELSSA EDITORIAL TEAM 19/20
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