The Silver Linings of a Global Virus
I know. No one in their right mind longs for the pandemic or any part of 2020 for a myriad of reasons. First, there was so much loss — so much death. These unfortunate deaths were compounded by unfortunate ignorance. Millions of families were forever changed… Such deep loss.
Then there was the whole school situation, from which we still haven’t recovered. Will we ever? Thousands of children fell out of the system, unable to manage online education. Many were never re-enrolled — Anywhere.
Lost milestones, like my own college graduation (adult student) still sting & lost communication and social skills are evident in the young. As much as it pains some of us, people need people. People need interaction with other people. There is a loss when we disconnect for an extended period of time.
I could go on, but that is just a smidge of what’s not to miss about that tumultuous time across the globe.
This post is about what I do miss.
I miss less traffic. A two mile jaunt to my local grocer can take 20 minutes because of traffic. During the lockdown it took seven minutes. (I know traffic was reduced greatly due to remote work, but I have worked remotely for a decade, so that was not new for me, hence not listing it as a miss).
I miss hearing and seeing nature in my backyard. Some of the squirrels and deer became pretty brazen, with no fear of human interference! A fawn jotted confidently across my patio, paused to peep into my living area, peered at me. I swear it kind of shrugged before it went about nonchalantly destroying the vegetation that I thought were pretty neat plants at one point.
I miss seeing pictures of how the Earth recovered from humanity. Lush grasses returned to plains. Streams ran clear. The smog dissipated. Yellowstone could breathe.
I sincerely think our Earth spawns off a virus every so often to mitigate the damage of humanity, to give itself a break to recover perhaps? Seems plausible. We humans have certainly become a virus to the Earth. Maybe a counter-virus is its antibodies…
I remember seeing a picture of the canals in Venice, crystal clear, without the chug and choke of boats and gondolas and such! Oh, how I wanted to see it! I did see it in 2021, and it was beautiful, though activity had resumed, so it wasn’t quite the same.
Side note! Speaking of Venice, one of the positive outcomes of the pandemic is it allowed over-toured places to see, to calculate what they had lost as their economies tilted too heavily upon tourist dollars. It inspired many cities to fight back, placing limits on cruise ships, tour buses, etc. They are also protecting local spaces with bans & curfews, reduced air b&b’s, charging deterrent entry fees, and limiting “Influencers” and photography, in efforts to avoid getting back to that sardine-packed, abusive & careless level of tourism.
Okay, where was I? Oh, yes, missing the pandemic lockdown. Small gatherings became a thing. Neighbors found a way to connect. Neighbors who were strangers decided to speak to each other for the first time, whether it was from balcony to balcony or over a fence. They connected in small, memorable ways that last. I greatly enjoyed the TikTok’s of spontaneous engagement from a distance, yet very close together. People need people.
I come from a large family and we typically do a couple of large gatherings per year. In 2020, we missed our annual family reunion (over 150 ppl) for the first time in 38 years! There were too many seniors, and too much travel involved to risk it. By 2021, I was desperately missing my extended family! So I started a small reunion (50 ppl capacity at the hosting location). It has become preferable to the larger one we used to have so I still do it!
I guess what this amounts to is missing the balance that the lockdown provided. It was refreshing to see empty city streets, often highlighting the architecture we normally don’t pay attention to… It was relaxing to observe the beauty of peace and quietness. It was inspiring to watch what could be if we are focused in our efforts to live smaller, to live intentionally and be responsible with the planet.
Since we have normalized, I have tried to keep the intentional living that I was required to do during the pandemic lockdown.
I can’t clear the canals, but I can volunteer for river bank clean ups. I can’t stop traffic jams, but I can drive less by compounding errands. I don’t want curious fawns eating my plants, but I can toss deer corn in the open space across the road to deter them.
I have tried to stay alert to nature, to the beauty of city buildings and designed parks. I have kept small intimate gatherings through the reduced annual reunion, but also through actual phone calls, and casual gatherings with my siblings and our children. I try to support small businesses that struggled to survive, so maybe they’ll have a better cushion in the future.
I hope by doing this, I am keeping the silver linings of a pandemic lockdown.
