Things I've Seen...in Quarantine

I have a few thoughts on our current challenges. I’m hoping I can maybe share some helpful ideas to maintain sanity during this crisis! I’m somewhat tired of discussing my incident, and even more concerned with making others tired of hearing about it, but it’s possible that I gained some insight that may prove helpful to others during this time, and that leads me to hope that some good can come of what I’ve been dealing with. 

Since my incident with Cipro back in 2017, I have experienced a great deal of what’s happening currently already. In the beginning, I could not open my hands or walk, and even as time progressed, and I thankfully regained a great deal of mobility, risk of injury, present injury, or exhaustion kept me home. I’ve missed out on countless social get-togethers, Zumba classes, church meetings, and other “normal” activities that I used to regularly participate in, and spent time with Netflix instead. It has been incredibly challenging to say the least, being in pain, isolated, lonely, scared, and prevented from doing the things that used to bring me joy. 

There are choices to be made when one is placed in crazy circumstances. I’m hoping that my deliberate attempt to make these choices will provide some help! Here are four insights that I hope will be useful.

1. When I couldn’t go anywhere, I wanted to go EVERYWHERE! I suddenly came down with the most intense wanderlust I’ve ever experienced. When suddenly the opportunities for exploration were not available to me, I desperately wanted to explore it all. I’ve noticed a similar sentiment going around right now with the quarantine. Here are some ways to feed that desire: 

• Plan a future vacation. Research the area, the activities available, the cost, the pictures, the hotels, etc. Imagine yourself having the best time ever. 
• Take a journey on YouTube. There are some INCREDIBLE videos on there that will take you to all sorts of places! I love the drone videos of the Oregon Coast and the Colorado mountains. 
• Meditate. You can travel to another place in your mind, if only for a brief 20 minutes. 

2. Acceptance vs. Resistance...what is the balance? When I was injured, my reflex was to fight against the circumstances, to overcome, to get back to my life. I felt that acceptance would be accepting defeat. The phrase “get back to my life” became a constant yoke about my neck, reminding me that my life was on hold while I dealt with my problems. We say this all of the time when we have surgery or get the flu: I just want to get back to my life! However, when the trial is a marathon and not a sprint, and when the light at the end of the tunnel is obscured, this adds additional pain to our already challenging circumstances. I had to alter my paradigm. I had to realize that this IS my life. This is a chapter of my life that I cannot skip over. It’s not the life I wanted, or the life I had, but this is what has happened, and this is my story to move through. Sometimes, realizing this can help you to calm down a bit and focus on what story you will write for yourself as you overcome or endure your trial. What character will you play while you are going through it? What would make you proud to look back on when it’s over (which will hopefully happen someday)? 

3.  Use this as a case point in comforting others going through hard times. I don’t think I’ve seen a single “You know, everything happens for a reason” during this entire crisis. I’ve seen people asking, “What do you need? How can I help? How are you holding up? I’m thinking of you! You’re not alone…” and so on. You may believe things happen for a reason, and so may the person you are attempting to comfort. I can tell you from personal experience however, that when in the depths of pain and sorrow, that phrase often feels like a kick in the face, like a dismissal of one’s pain and a lecture on top of it. I would hope to never see a man sitting at a buffet full of food, staring at a starving child in the corner, and proclaiming in response to that child’s cries, “You know, everything happens for a reason!” Doesn’t that seem ludicrous when you look at it? I believe people usually have wonderful intentions, but when we know better, we do better, and I don’t know many people, though I’m not saying that there aren’t some, who truly feel understood and comforted by this phrase, or other platitudes involving positive thinking, etc. when they are seriously grieving or in pain.

4.  Be thankful. This may sound dangerously close to “be positive,” but I’m convinced that it’s different. Gratitude and grief can co-exist simultaneously. Positivity can operate like this as well, but it’s a little bit more complex. It’s scientifically proven that gratitude can change your brain. Finding things to be thankful for every day really can give you a lifeline when you’re sinking. Sometimes for me, it was that I was in awful pain but had a home with heat and air conditioning to experience that in. Or showers, contact lenses, pajamas, family, Facetime, etc. Usually something can be found to take just a few moments to feel gratitude for...and it can save you. 

These are just a few thoughts that I hope might help someone...or at least provide something to read to pass the time! Love to everyone.