COVID-19 Has Us Hunkered Down for Now, But Far From OUT

This morning, Upworthy.com shared some of the best COVID-19 videos by celebrities: Samuel L. Jackson has a new book called Stay the F*** at Home, which you can see him reading here, and Jack Black has a video in his back yard where he’s looking like a Texan contemplating becoming a nudist or a “flamingo” dancer (as opposed to a flamenco dancer).

 

Stuff like this works because we’re all facing a pandemic with the potential to kill off our loved ones in a really horrible way (and we won’t even be able to be with them at their bedside before they die or hold a funeral or memorial service for them, or watch as they’re buried), and that’s just about the scariest scenario any of us can imagine.

 

When every day seems one day closer to disaster or deliverance, and we’re not sure which it will be, it’s important to spend time thinking of other things, or thinking of fun ways to remind ourselves to stay the course and save lives by staying home and vegging.

 

I mean, looking at this another way, what if the cure-all for COVID-19 was non-stop activity every waking moment: running, swimming, walking, large family and communal gatherings, etc.  How many of us could handle that scenario?

 

It might sound fine in theory, especially right now, but it would get old just as fast as this regimen has (at least, for an introvert like me, it would). We’d be so tired of each other and of endless activity that we’d long for isolation, rest,  and social distancing.

 

All we’re being asked to do right now is stay home, wash our hands, keep our hands away from our faces, and stay at least six feet away from other people unless we’re wearing a mask. This is do-able. (My biggest challenge is keeping my hands away from my face, so I just wash them more often and before I go to sleep at night because my hands and arms are on my face and chin most of the night when I’m unconscious and semi-conscious.)

 

This is your OPPORTUNITY, not a short-term prison sentence.

Challenge yourself!

Discover:

• How silly you can get? Silly enough to cry, or to laugh until your sides ache?
• How many ways can you find to help you laugh or smile today?
• How many naps can you take on a given day and still sleep at night? (And if you can’t sleep at night because of too many naps, what else can you do to pass the time in a positive, lighthearted or profound way? Maybe write a love letter to a loved one. Not a romantic one–a letter to your best friend or your adult child letting them know why being separated from them right now is the worst part of this pandemic for you…)  You don’t have to fake happy if you’re not. Just get real with people!
• How many books have you longed to read and never felt you could spare the time?
• How many of the candidates for offices you’ll be voting on have you looked at more closely, including not just what they say but how they vote. (Find out here who is funding their elections.)

 

Steer clear of mindless entertainment at least 2/3 of your waking hours and find out what real life is all about!

 

Anatole France had it about right:

“The truth is that life is delicious, horrible, charming, frightful, sweet, bitter, and that is everything.”

 

There are just so many more things we can do while we’re locked in that we can’t seem to find the time to do when life is what we call “normal” to each of us.

 

During this brief interlude in our shared history, make your days and nights what you want them to be.

 

Sitting and moping over what you can’t do works for a while. Give yourself ten minutes every day for a pity party, but then stand up, look around, and see what calls out to you. Do that! You’ll feel a lot better afterward for having accomplished something you deem worthwhile.

 

It’s a good feeling.