I am abiding by the UK Government`s instructions to stay at home, to only go out for essentials and to keep a distance from others. It appears that these edicts have caused hardship for many people, but they have also brought unexpected relief for others.
This week the news was announced that the Marquess of Bath (pictured) passed away from the complications of coronavirus. He will be missed by his family and by the wider British public who recognised a genuine English eccentric. He was a flamboyant figure who loved entertaining others in his midst so the restrictions enforced through his last illness must have been very lonely and painful.
This is the most extraordinary and unpredictable period of human history. We cannot know for certain whether we will be stronger people (if) we manage to survive it. Nothing seems normal at the present time, predicting the future is impossible. This isn`t just an unusual way of living it is an unusual way of being. It is taking a great deal of time and effort to get used to these new situations as our tolerance and patience is stretched to the limit.
Isolation has lead to a necessary state of silence and reflection, we are less inclined towards anger and much more aware of understanding and empathising with others. This period has allowed us to think more about our own fragility, our mercilessly short sojourn in this life and given us an uncomfortable reminder of our own mortality. Truthfully we are not that important as individuals, we mean so much more as a community.
“Illness is the doctor to whom we pay most heed; to kindness, to knowledge we make promise only; pain we obey”.
Marcel Proust.
25 years of hopeful thinking 