A Moment of Introspection

44 Replies

Late this morning I was on my balcony feeling a little sorry for myself.  There was no real need. I’m healthy, I am safe and I have all my needs met, except for one. I enjoy spending time on my own. I can write when I’m alone. I can paint when I’m alone. I can watch TV or read. At my fingertips I have the entire world on the Internet. But there’s one thing I cannot have:  people. I miss people. I missed seeing them on the street and in the shops. But not seeing them is a small price to pay for keeping us healthy. It’s the least I can do.

As I was looking out over my balcony, I was aware that I was alone. There was no one in sight. This is a busy intersection and there are usually a lot of people and cars and noise. But today I could hear clearly the birds chirping away in, what I can only assume is, a song of joy. They are not competing with the fumes generated by cars or the cacophony of voices that accompanies any large group of people. The air is clear and the faint breeze is sweet.

At a distance I can hear a car. But it is not close. There are no planes in the air or trains in the background.  A Security car has just stopped outside my bank. I can see him. He’s all alone. He only stays for a moment and then leaves. A solitary car pulls up into the empty parking lot and I can see through its windows that there are two passengers.  I watch as she don’s gloves before she enters the empty bank. There’s a bank machine there. Within moments they too were gone. I can see birds flying free and unencumbered. This is a moment of introspection.

People are worried and rightly so. The last pandemic of this magnitude was in 1918. It lasted from January 1918 to December 1920. Infected 500 million people, about one quarter of the world’s population at the time. 102 years ago. Have we learned enough to combat this one? Over 1 million people in the world have been infected so far. Out of 7 billion!

Church bells are ringing in support of those on the front lines. I see videos and hear stories of people coming out onto their balconies or at the end of their driveways and singing. They’re making noise. They are rejoicing in being alive. They are refusing to give up or to give in. We will survive this. Our planet will have time to heal and we will have time to take stock.  What really is important in our lives, in our world? Maybe now we’ll learn the truth.

We are not isolating ourselves; we are distancing ourselves. It is a huge difference. And that is what will keep us together. I hope it will bring us closer as individuals and as a species. Be well.

44 thoughts on “A Moment of Introspection”

  2. pensitivity101

    A lovely post Pam. We are noticing how much cleaner the air is as there’s hardly any road traffic. I can hear the birdsong earlier and more clearly. We see other dog walkers and greet them from a distance. When all this is over, I wonder how long it will take to get back to ‘normal’ ? This difficult time has a flip side in bringing families together. to enjoy precious time that would otherwise disappear because we are ‘too busy’ doing other things.

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  3. Murphy's Law

    Beautifully said Pam. You certainly captured my own thoughts. I agree, we’re not locked up in solitary confinement, we’re just not physically together for awhile. But we will be soon because we will get through this together, while apart!

    Sending you virtual hugs my friend. Be well, stay safe. ((( ))) ((( ))) ((( ))) ((( )))
    Ginger

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  6. Mark Lanesbury

    Thank you kind lady, and spoken beautifully. We are a very unique species indeed. We can be the worst but also the most empathetic as well, one day we will find that balance. And as you have said, maybe it will be sooner than we think 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋

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  7. dweezer19

    I feel you Pam. I do okay until I talk with my children. They are just beginning to feel the sadness of an uncertain future. I am thankful to have lived a full and unique life, and although I am not wanting to die, I have lived. They are just beginning. I believe most of us, as humans, know what our roles are here, even though many are distracted by the busyness of life. I am most concerned with the callousness of those who hold the most power and play with our lives as though we are merely pawns in some grand chess game for which they are grossly unqualified.Nature is indeed rejoicing, but they always were. We just couldn’t hear them above all of our own noise. Happy Easter. Stay safe. 🤗💕

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  11. John Hric

    A little bird told me the word about the herd. It needs to develop patience before it can develop immunity. Otherwise we will have a new show called herd wrek – to go boldly where no immunity has been developed. And Scotty’s beamer cannot beam up the whole herd all at once. Don’t be a red shirt.

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  14. Emilie

    Glad you had the wonderful silence, other than birds. Where I live it’s very rural and quiet. I love mornings when I can sit on my patio. I hear a train five or six blocks south, in Mexico. I hear burros bray in Mexico, and then my friends’ across town in the US bray back. A peacock calls. Birds chatter in the trees. And those are the only sounds.
    Mornings like that make me deliciously happy.

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  15. Donna Florack

    I don’t know who took the photo. My husband found it on Facebook. As I exit the expressway into downtown every morning (when I used to drive in to work), I pass under a huge sign over Clinton Avenue welcoming drivers into downtown Rochester (NY). It’s usually a roadway FULL of cars. Someone took a picture the other night of two female deer running up this empty stretch of road. My (empty) office building is on the left, its rooftop lit up in green. The animals are taking over what we have abandoned. I will try to post this image on my blog.

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