“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,” great words by Charles Dickens. Given how these days are passing, and as sad as the news has been, it has also been enlightening. For those of you who know me, you know that I re-enact 18th century life…it’s an excuse for me to detach from our fast paced world, to enjoy fires, working on meals, sewing projects and general conversation. It allows me to step out of the fast lane. It’s a reminder of my childhood, when I ran the neighborhood until the sun set, no phones or television to distract me.
In this fast paced world, I am constantly running to catch up, I can’t even begin to imagine how families do it. This “social distancing” or “self imposed isolation,” although initially scary and unfamiliar, has been somewhat of a blessing. No longer do I have to wait for my 18th century weekends to disconnect. I am disconnecting daily, in a most positive way. Although still working from home, connecting with friends and students over social media, I am also embracing time to walk the neighborhood, to work on projects, to read, write, to slow down.
With this lifestyle change there is no guilt. There is sadness, no hanging out in person with family and friends, but there is a secret satisfaction that I am re-engaging in the things that I love. I am 12 again, running the neighborhood, concocting meals, enjoying the light, reading, writing, staying up late and sleeping in. I’m embracing new interests, while pausing the craziness of my current life.
With all of this unfortunate news, I hold onto the things that appear to matter most, an earth that is healing, because we are no longer abusing her and a human race that can now positively acknowledge one another. My personal take away is a newfound sense of self, a better understanding of my goals, myself, and the importance of striking a balance. The ability to be 12 again, but be an adult, with the hope that once this crisis passes, I can hold on to this feeling. I will still love my 18th century weekends, but will not need them to disconnect from the hamster wheel of 21st century life. That I can continue to enjoy the quiet times, the sewing times, the impromptu events that occur. Hopefully, I will continue to see, the love that people have for one another, their ability to connect more frequently through face time, their love of family time, their inability to complain about the simplest things, their joy of just being able to ride a bike in the sun without expectations.
Through this pandemic, we should see that the simple things in life are important, not how many teams we play on, how many awards we get or how many events we can attend. We, as a human race, need to appreciate each sunrise and sunset, with the knowledge, that we have to live our day(s) by what we want to do and not what society expects us to do. We can create our own destiny, we can love each thing we do, and relish the time it takes us to accomplish those goals. “Living” life is important, and should not be measured by the number of things we can squeeze into a day, but rather measured by the things we love doing in a day.
