For most of us living in isolation or quarantine or in our ‘bubbles’ is a new and extremely drastic measure that has had to be put in place to control, slow the spread, flatten the curb or in the case of New Zealand Priminister Jacinda Ardern, “totally stamp out the Corona Virus from our shores.”
When I first heard that we were going from level two to through level three to level four and total lockdown within the space of a few days I, like many, couldn’t help but feel slightly scared and panicky having no idea how this would practically play itself out.
My husband and I had just brought a new home so as well as paying extremely high rent we were also paying the mortgage of our new property while we were having building renovations done to make it live-able. Realizing these would have to stop until stage 4 was lifted meant a fair amount of frustration as well as worry over general job security. No one knew how long this was going to last, we were all just hoping it was business as usual in as small amount of time as practicable.
The first week I felt ever so slightly negative about the limited activity and the essential travel only rule. There was a lack of freedom here I had previously never experienced.
But that’s was when I stopped and took a good hard look at myself. This was precipitated as I was walking from my car to my local supermarket. An elderly gentleman in a motorized scooter/wheelchair shouted abuse at a young boy waiting with his skateboard at a bus-stop.
This older man ripped into him with words that would put any gang member to shame. He knew how to go for the jugular and he wasn’t holding back. The boy who would have been about 17 went red and seemed confused as to why he was being targeted by this man. The older man saw him with his skateboard and assumed he was “loitering” in the suburbs main shopping area and using it as a playground. I could tell the young man was simply waiting for the bus and was using his skateboard as many do, a means of transport to get from a to b quicker, just as the older man was using his motorized scooter.
Having a son a couple of years younger than this boy made me want to protect him especially as he could have lobbed insults back but managed to hold his tongue and simply boarded the bus when it arrived. Jacinda I notice always says to be kind with your interactions. Something the older gentleman obviously needed to practice.
I have since been looking at this time where we are in Lockdown as an enforced retreat.
There is something comforting in only interacting with in my bubble except for essential business. I am always using these interactions as a chance to be kind. Suddenly every interaction is important and holds a special value that may have escaped me previously. I am looking at the food I am eating and moving towards whole foods for not only myself but for my teenage children also. I am working not on any unnecessary jobs but only those that bring me pleasure or add some value to mine or other’s lives. I am encouraging others to keep to a routine and that this routine should include exercise that fits the individual
involved each day. A walk on the beach with the dog is suddenly such a important task not only for yourself but for your best friend. I am working on those projects I had only been daydreaming about for some time. If ever there was a time to do it that time is now. For example I am making a start on the book I have been wanting to write. It is called Broken to Whole and about how I transformed from someone who saw myself as just that, someone broken and inferior to being the whole, abundant being I am. That’s not being cocky, it’s about marveling in the creatures God created us to be and never apologizing for realizing the marvelousness of who we are and what inspiration and creativity reside within us.
So I see this Lockdown as a sacred time, a time unlike any other I have experienced in my 45 years existence. There is beauty to be seen in everything, even these bizarre and insecure circumstances this world and its infections have bought upon us. And the amazing people who are using this inspiration and creativity to help others in a practical way or simply just being there for them. Showing kindness is one of the most valuable gifts we possess as human beings and for every time I see someone like the abusive man in the motorized scooter I see hundreds more taking the time to check on neighbour’s and smiling kindly at each other as we line up 2 meters apart in the supermarket queue.
This lockdown it seems can be anything you want it to be and I want it to be a time of reflection, a time of comraderie and a time to come together. Kia Kaha New Zealand. Stay strong and be kind.