Paradoxes abound:
Three lives in conditions of isolation uncover paradoxes. Three women – none of us young – living in different spaces: a small town apartment. a city condo, a country home. We all feel the importance of our physical space to our internal well-being.
Lives interrupted in mid-stride. Slowing us down. Turning our attention inward. Finding new ways to reach out, carrying forward.
1) I had just put all my things in storage and moved into a temporary space, waiting for the construction of a new house, waiting for a new stage in my life.
Focusing has become a daily, even an hourly, practice. And I spend much of my time on CoronaPlaza.LIFE. My physical world contracted, but my online world brings me to all corners of the world. I take a movement class from a woman in Turkey, discuss politics with a man in Pakistan, teach a poetry writing class to people in Europe. I want to keep my life on a global scale like this going forward.
2) I had just moved from the country to a condo in the city. I came for restaurants and museums and the theatre – all now closed. I came for the social life and now we are isolated and distanced and wearing masks. I miss my garden. My condo doesn’t even have a balcony for a potted plant.
Life interrupted, I see the pace of my social life was so hectic, it was almost like a job. Now I have time to phone old friends who are alone in their isolation. People are reaching out but there are no services for them. CoronaPlaza has been there for me. Going forward, I might start my own online group for my friends where we can talk and share our lives.
3) I just cleared out my county house and made it freshly my own – living alone now. I love my garden and the river trail, and I’ve been making things, doing crafts.
I’m lucky, I know. I have a kind of ritual, walking around my house taking it all in and feeling gratitude for this space where I can stop judging myself and heal, where I can give my attention to both my physical and mental health. and find my authentic self.
I see CoronaPlaza as offering what some people call “the trampoline effect”, with ideas bouncing off CoronaPlaza and going out into the world, creating new discussions and new groups everywhere.
