The lockdown has evoked a variety of reactions. Some are restless. Some bingeing on Netflix and Amazon Prime. A lot of us working from home. Children are studying as schools teach online.
I got rather interesting responses to the slide above (the Kübler-Ross model modified by my husband for the current scenario). One friend was tired. Someone wanted to go to the mall. Many colleagues sounded content and happy at working from home. One person said, “Acceptance”, without really sounding like she had😊 It is not easy, I agree.
But the best response came from my father. He lives alone but has household help and is comfortable otherwise. While we were on a video call, he mentioned how my younger brother (in London) was worried about him. He was sure that papa must be missing the company of people.
My father gestured to the books in his beautifully stocked library and said, “How can I miss company? I am in the company of the greats!”
that indeed is the finest example of lemonade from lemons given in life. The lockdown reminded us of Nelson Mandela’s decades of solitary confinement, in a much smaller place; going back further to Gandhi, Nehru and other freedom fighters in solitary confinement. Indeed their thoughts and life philosophies got sharpened during this time. Inability to move freely is extremely strenuous on the mind. Maybe thats an evolutionary response to keep us fit. Thus, we have to struggle to remain still, which is so easily seen in babies. Now where does that go when we grow up and become somnolent? How does this evolutionary tendency get overridden to generate sloth and laziness as we become adults? Is puberty responsible, I wonder. Sometimes I think one should be able to start life afresh at 40 or 45, with all the vigor and life expectancy of youth.. so that most of us who have stumbled upon some path in life, and then discovered ourselves later, can press the restart button and actually achieve full potential!!
I love how you adapted Kübler-Ross’ model for Lockdown Blues. I do think ( and have read) that there is grief underlining this experience for many: grieving for normalcy, grieving for plans that won’t happen, grieving for finances lost, etc. There is also definitely a mindset piece as well- how we make sense out of this experience, and how we focus on what we can, and cannot, control!