The First Week of Social Distancing In a Global Pandemic

Social Distancing has officially come into play and we’ve adapted rather quickly if I do say so myself. Initial thoughts on it all are positive and I welcomed to the idea. I was happy that my country/province/city/employers were all doing the necessary means to help everyone stay safe and healthy. 

At first, like all the memes going around were showing, we binged our favourite shows. We had tv episodes that we needed to catch up on so we got comfy and mindlessly stayed in. And then the next day came and then the next. 

Up until today I was feeling pretty good, however my anxiety has now fully kicked. It finally sunk in that we’ll be home for a while and I’m feeling all sorts of things about it. 

Today I feel…

Anxious, annoyed, angry, frustrated, and dare I say it, a little scared

But. Instead of spiralling, I decided to scroll social media to stay connected with others. The entire world is experiencing COVID-19, doing the whole social distancing thing together. However, we’re all able to stay connected through social media. 

Through these online connections, there seems to be a theme that I’ve noticed and keep seeing come up. The theme being how people are reverting to “the little joys” around them. A means to cope with the ever so changing world around us. People are paying attention to things that we never took the time to notice before our world changed. I’m seeing people post about having more family time and catching up with friends because they now have the time. I’ve also seen how people are taking this time to learn to play an instrument. Or taking advantage of working out during their lunch break because they’re now working from home. All of this is just so amazing to see despite all the negativity in the news.

A New Way of Coping

I’ll be honest and say that this change for me has definitely had it’s hard moments. I’ve had to find new ways to cope so today I decided to bake. I enjoy baking and find it very calming. It often provides me with a sense of ease. I don’t bake often because more times than not, I’m too busy and it takes too long. But here I am with the opportunity to slow things down and truly enjoy the baking process. Chocolate chip banana muffins, don’t mind if I do.

Further to these little joys I’ve seen throughout communities online, watching Italy come together the way they have has provided so much love and hope. People are on their balconies singing, dancing, and enjoying the company of their neighbours and still social distancing. Throughout this uncertain time, they’ve used music to stay connected and what a joy it is to watch. Through music alone, hundreds of people are able to experience some happiness throughout a very dark time.  

Maybe, just maybe, this is the world’s way of telling us, telling everyone, to slow the ‘eff down. We’ve become a society that doesn’t sleep. We’re up at the crack of dawn and going to bed completely defeated. Always running around and doing all of the things. Maybe this is the universe telling the world to revert back to our small joys in life and re-group. To re-think what’s actually important to us and what we value most in this world. 

My Top 3 “Little Joys”:

Seeing as I keep coming across people sharing their little joys, I figured I’d share what mine currently are:

1. The extra kisses and cuddles I’m getting from my husband and our puppy
2. Face timing our families and friends, catching up on how their day is going
3. The morning silence while I sit on the couch with my tea

These little joys are fluid though and I am constantly changing what my top 3 are at any given moment. This experience is teaching me to watch for small, tiny things and embrace them as much as I can. One thing that has helped me continue practicing gratitude in small ways is using my Five Minute Journal. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to have some reflection these days.

Lots of us are home at the moment with a little extra time on our hands. Something we all crave so much of – more time. More time to exercise, more time to spend with our families. More time to try cooking a new meal. All we ever want is “more time”. And here we have it. The world has gifted us with time. Not in an ideal way, but in a way where we can actually stay home, slow down, and embrace all life’s little things. We may have to continue our social distancing for the foreseeable future but no one said you can’t embrace what’s already around you.

What are you doing with your time now that it’s been given to you?

If you’re not burned out by all the Covid talk yet, check out my blog post, Quarantine Day Whatever, when the pandemic first began.