3 Benefits of Quarantine
Rather than adding to the hundreds of thousands of new blogs and articles around the internet that simply add more reminiscing about how wonderful the world was when were able to travel freely, I want to jot down a few thoughts I have on the advantages of this stage in our lives.
We are reminded to center ourselves
By being “stuck at home”, we have found ourselves trying new things, getting into old hobbies, trying out recipes we never thought we could make, spending more time with family, and communicating more with friends from a distance. We have seen drive-by birthdays, graduation parades, social distance visits through glass windows to remind our elderly that they are loved, and even evenings where families put down the electronics and just spend time together.
We are forced to live every hour together and in doing so, we have been forced to re-find our centers. As a traveler stuck at home, I am remembering why I love to travel in the first place. Adventure, new experiences, new cultures, new scenic landscapes are just some of my favorite reasons.
We have learned how to deal with each other again
Despite there being a significant increase in digital mediums for communication, we have been starved of our time together, in person. When we get this time now, it is more precious. This is an important lesson for all of us. Remember before quarantine when you could be in a group in a room and everybody was on their phones? I don’t see that as much now. There is so much excitement around being in the same space again, that we have put ourselves on a digital diet when we are together. Neighbors are smiling and waving more, people are out walking every morning and evening. We are growing as a community.
Hailing from an area where natural disasters are commonplace, I grew up with this sort of bonding, but seeing it on a nationwide scale now is heartwarming. Look through the chaos and see the community. See the love and kindness despite the fear and uncertainty.
Time is the most important thing
With many people at home all day with their families, we have not only learned to live together in harmony and how to communicate better with one another, but we have also seen first hand the value of time. Time is the one resource we can’t get any more of. You can make more money, you can buy more stuff, you can travel next year, but you can’t get more time. We have been afforded a strangely unique opportunity to make the most of the time we have right now with those we love around us. (Even if that time is spent on a videocall, it is valuable to us)
It goes without saying that there are many people adversely affected by the suppression of business and there are countless hours available for your consumption of all the ways that quarantine has hurt us, but this is meant to push a more positive direction. I have enjoyed quarantine. It has been difficult, but it is in difficulty that we know ourselves. I am looking forward to my next trip to pretty much anywhere at this point, but I wanted to stop and take a moment to be grateful for the lessons I have learned.
Until next time.
Thanks, y’all!
