A tiny little virus, corona, stopped the world. And if the virus did not spread and kill the majority of the population – not even in Sweden – the fear of the virus spread like a pandemic. To protect the citizens, officials in many countries urged people to stay home, which surely moderated the spread of the virus.

Work tasks that could be performed from home became remote work, and the restaurants stayed empty. Traffic on the surface of the Earth, at the sea, and in the air slowed down.

For some, not being able to meet other people was painful. Social isolation accentuated the importance of friendships, care and intimacy. Some were forced to stay in dysfunctional family units or other types of partnerships. Others suffered from the lack of physical excercise or layoff at work – everybody faced agony or grief due to their own reasons.

Others experienced the isolation as an opportunity to go into introspection and listen to their own needs. Finally, they were given time to break out of the cycle of daily routines. They did not need to spend time in the rush hour traffic with possibly agitated fellow travellers. Some were able to modify their time table according to their own or their family’s preferred rythm.

Families gained more time together. And even if the school aged children stayed at home, the hobbies were canceled which meant that there was no need to rush around from one place to another. Leisure activities and friendships found new forms.

Even in countries with very strickt regulations during the pandemic – like in Germany where only two persons were allowed to move together outdoors – young children kept up their social contacts by drawing pictures to to be delivered to their friends by someone adult in their family. Corona also brought about some people’s artistic talents and they shared their songs or other art forms via whatsapp or facebook.

Compassion towards those who had lost their loved ones or for those who were seriously ill transcended the national borders. Chinese children were able to see the blue sky for the first time in their lives, because pollution had darkened the air before. The air cleared also elsewhere like in Milano, and the traffic at the seas seized. Once again, it can be said that the issues that are seemingly awful and may feel bad, can have a golden aura around them.

It is always worth providing optimism a chance. If we were forced to lose something because of that tiny little virus, what new is coming into our lives? Or is something else gaining more space and time in your life – something that you could not get engaged with before?

In the end, it is up to us how we deal with the situations. Our thought patterns can make things seem worse than they really are. Thoughts cannot see all the options available to us, but we always have an option to choose presence. Accept what is without a fight, and let our life unfold before us in unimaginative ways. By doing this, we may be able to look at the situations from a new angle. What did I learn or what did I gain? What is good in my life right now? Let us provide a chance for the new situation to show what good it can bring for us.

I can hear your whisper

Photo: Olia Gozha