Like everything it touched, this virus has taught us to depend on ourselves in a novel way.
First, we learned that everything could change in an instant. As the world shifted under our feet, instantly, adaptability proved to be our new requirement.
Then, forced to return to the basics of life, we focused on how to make a weekly menu and shop for essentials. We learned to entertain ourselves and get to know our children. Siblings befriended each other while parents juggled like never before. Through simplicity, we deduced what we can live without and that which is necessary.
As time went on, we tried new things like how to repair our cars, cook new recipes, and give haircuts to each other. In our zeal, we opted to plant a garden and relish time with new pets. We examined opportunities anew.
As need warranted, we managed technology while being at home. We engaged in conference calls sometimes in the balanced commotion of a far younger uninvited audience, a dog vying for our attention, or other disturbances around us. As such, we learned flexibility without the use of a gym or a yoga class.
As fear’s touch gripped us, we washed, cleaned, and disinfected as much as we zoomed. We studied symptoms and causes. We learned what a pulse oximeter was and pursued reading for requisite knowledge.
In tranquil moments, we explored our creativity. We grasped how to build fire pits and install tile. Following impulses, we began online classes and worked on new projects. And we discovered how much binge-watching we can do while sewing a mask.
Through this experience, we learned what we fear, and by that equation, what we value. We gained an appreciation for our silence and discovered our need for video chats with family and friends. With compassion, we gave thanks for those working to keep our world breathing, sometimes by stocking shelves, other times by a ventilator.
Day by day, unknowingly, we gained new skills. Not from the ease of our every day routines but from the seismic shifts that changed who we were at the very core. In our quarantine, we mastered the art of self-reliance. Life will never be the same.
We have grown.
~ Roopal Badheka