It's been a few weeks now, most of my friends and family are living with some restrictions due to CV. The selfish joy I've been getting from this is that people are starved for human interaction, which means so many lovely video calls. I feel like I'm more in touch with my friends than I have ever been in the past!
By and large, speaking with my friends the one thing that seems to come through is that though it's been an adjustment for some, most people (at the moment) seem to be surprising content with life. There were some initial teething problems at first, what with almost everything going online, but now it seems most people I know are in the groove of things.
I should mention that most of my friends and I are really lucky in that we are still able to leave our houses for exercise etc. Some of my family and friends are a lot more restricted and/or a lot more isolated. So, as I type this I type being mindful that I'm speaking from a place of extreme privilege. I am aware there are some people with no place to find refuge or are dealing with mental health issues where living in ISO is more than a challenge. If you are struggling and don't feel you can talk to your friends or family please contact your local helplines.
In New Zealand: Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor.
In Australia: 13 11 14
In Singapore: 6202-6868
In Sri Lanka: 1926 hotline
If you're looking for something more long term there are also apps out there to help too such as BetterHelp. Feel free to add more resources in the comments.
One of the things I liked about this time, yes I know I'm going to sound idealistic and naive (I don't care), is that the world got together to do something for others. Most of us aren't home because we are scared we will get CV, we are not keeping our children home because we are afraid for them. We know most of our children will most likely get it at some point and will be okay. We are doing this because of the people in our world that are vulnerable. I feel like our global story the last few years has been really unkind, divisive and selfish "us against them", "I deserve this", "Go back to where you came from" etc. To me, the simple act of staying home, says I care about people other than myself. We are part of a larger global community.
Wherever you may be and whatever you are going through right now, I hope you are finding a sense of peace and some contentment during this time.
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