It is hard to imagine that you could finding any silver linings in the weeks of living under the shelter-in-place to slow the Covid-19 pandemic. But friends and family say they are experiencing them and are happily pointing them out. I tend to agree.
More sleep. Friends and family, including my adult children, report that they are now sleeping more, reflecting that pre-coronavirus they were living sleep deprived lives. This is not a surprise. Experts like Ariana Huffington, author of The Sleep Revolution, have been noting that we’ve been getting less sleep than we need for some time now. It’s ironic then that it has taken this slow down to help people realize this. Better late than never.
Slowing down. The slower pace is forcing some dialing back of ambition, striving, and hard charging. There is less edge, less striving, and less of the go, go, go quality to life. There is time to breath and not feel so rushed. There’s less human doing and more human being. This slowing down has opened a window to other things in life and that includes exploration.
Exploration. Exploration has taken on a local quality. Rather than exploring a new city or country, you now explore a new street in your neighborhood. You notice the birds, the spring flowers, the cleaner air, the details. Exploration has also gone inward. Lynn Borton, creator of the Choose to be Curious podcast on Arlington’s local WERA (96.7), creates a collages based on her thematic explorations in her home. Each collage reflects the theme of the day. Another friend says she is enjoying the quieter, reflective times of the present moment and the fact that all of humanity is doing this at the same time.
The silver linings don’t banish the coronavirus uncertainty or challenges. But they do highlight how by noticing we can open our eyes to discovery, creativity, and personal resilience in these uncertain times.