Let me begin this post by acknowledging my privilege. Having a roof over my head, emergency financial aid from the government, enough food supply, and most importantly, being able-bodied, everything that I took for granted and only learned to appreciate recently. I feel a bit ashamed to admit that I'm enjoying the time staying at home.
Being an introverted homebody, not much has changed in my life. In fact, it makes me less guilty for not having fun outside like everyone else. My boyfriend and I are on paid leave until further notice. My workaholic boyfriend was forced to take a break from work. He came over often in the past 10 days. We did stuff that we’ve been meaning to do but have put off for far too long. We deep cleaned our place, took a long walk in a forest, made food from scratch, started seeds and regrew vegetables from scraps. He read his book while I revisited some video tutorials for crochet, a short-lived hobby of mine. All the activities cost very little. I realize nothing makes me more grounded or grateful in times like these than spending time with people I love in a space well taken care of.
I’m homebound except for essential grocery trips. When I go out, I’m in this quiet and peaceful city with minimal tourists. All I hear are birds, the occasional footsteps of joggers and the sound of trams passing by. The canals reflect the sun and I see waves of crystals glistering. Sometimes I park my bike and simply take in the familiar yet unusual surroundings. I’m not rushing to get anywhere, I’m just perfectly fine being present in that moment, however long it takes.
What I want in life is indeed simple, but too often I allow my narrow perception of what a full life should look like to take away the joy of living a simple life. I care too much about people’s expectations of me. My materialistic desires gradually take over my appreciation of simplicity and stillness. I let stress from work get the best of me. The coronavirus is scary and heartbreaking. It showed how much can change in the blink of an eye and how insignificant what I was relentlessly chasing are. I hope I will come out of it as a more conscious person. I hope my experience will serve as a constant reminder to shift my gaze to the beauty of little things and prioritize things that make my heart content.
Submitted March 26, 2020 at 07:47PM by worrywort__ https://ift.tt/2JkDTS5
