Image Credit: Michal Bednarek / Dreamstime.com

By Daniela Ginta

The Way I See It

GINTA: Dreaming about better days helps us get through the present ones

Apr 6, 2020 | 3:28 PM

THE PEOPLE I KNOW are now unequally divided in two groups. The first, by far the largest, is composed of those who take physical distancing to heart and roll with it the best they can, offering people around them spoonfuls of optimism and hope for their presently leaky cups.

The second group, much smaller, is comprised of those who distance themselves but grumblingly so, calling this a folly for the most part, arguing that it will destroy the economy and really, ‘Just think about it,’ they say, ‘it’s just another flu.’ They have a few lists of, ‘This is how many people died of _____’ ready to share. When I point out the obvious (contagiousness, deadly complications) they reply, ‘Yes, but still. It’s not Ebola or the plague.’

I lump myself confidently with the first group for many reasons. This COVID-19 situation is an equation with many unknowns and the race to unpack this micro-monster is on. (Micro in size, monster in everything else.) But we must rely on the smallest scraps of patience until we learn more and do all that we can to reduce the risk to us and everyone in the community. Some days are better than others, but we are in it together, no?

A friend sent me an article about the fact that physical distancing might last until 2022. I almost wanted to throw my laptop out the window. I’ll save the article for a day when I’ll feel up to it and my eyes won’t tear up so bad. I am still learning to live with this much uncertainty, so I ought to choose what to focus on.

For example, I am fantasizing about hanging out at the farmer’s market this summer, bumping into people I know, chatting with the vendors I’ve known for years, sipping coffee, listening to great music and going home with my bags filled with fresh goodies — and way too many pattypan squashes which I love the taste of, but I adore the shape and colour of most of all.

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I am fantasizing about having people over for dinner and hugging everyone, not wondering for even one second about viruses. What else? Getting together for coffee with old friends and new friends I met virtually during the pandemic; visiting my favourite small local stores, used bookstores included. Mostly though, forgetting the word pandemic for a while.

What’s life going to look like once we’re out of the woods? Here’s my fantasy on that:

• That having learned the value of human connection we remain a strong and kind community; that we value our shared humanity before anything else.
• That we will have understood the sacrifice of all of the healthcare professionals, hospital staff involved with caring and cleaning, and beyond that, of all the people whose jobs kept them on the forefront – emergency staff, store clerks, bus and delivery drivers, and so many others, and we’re all better for it, grateful as can be and willing to pay it forward in any way possible.
• That we will have learned to appreciate our most precious and overlooked asset – time, and will make the best of every day, whether alone or with loved ones.
• That, having seen the occasional shortages of food, we will have learned that food is precious and so is growing it and the many new vegetable gardens all over the city will attest to that.
• That we will have all rediscovered the magic of shared family meals, and the joy of the most basic and simplest home-cooked ones.
• That we have understood what simplicity is, how we’re better when living with less and making wiser use of existing resources.
• That most of us will have willingly adopted a ‘make do’ life philosophy; that creativity spiking so high in times of physical distancing will remain a staple.
• That we will have rediscovered the magic of books.

There you have it, dreams and fantasies during quarantine. Roll your eyes if you must, but I think it’s about whatever gets you through the day, through the week and farther yet. Dreaming every now and then about the aftermath, whatever that means to each of us, but ultimately it’s whatever inspires you to reach out to fellow humans and say hey, let’s lean on each other until this storm passes — including silly memes, photos of yet another loaf of bread, puppies, dressed-up cats, and whatever else makes us laugh a bit, refill the hope reservoir and remember that we’re in it together.