A strange sort of peace

Since the call for all South Africans to practice social distancing, a strange sort of quiet has descended on our neighbourhood. Sure, it is a public holiday, but no other Human Rights Day was ever this subdued. There are few cars in the streets, few pedestrians on the pavements, and few aeroplanes flying overhead. No-one is making any plans to get together. Things are almost at a standstill.

This is the first Saturday since president Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of national disaster on account of COVID-19 on the evening of Sunday 15 March. A week ago I was making payments for flights to and from Cape Town, but that trip has fallen through. My daughter and son in law who were supposed to travel to Cape Town from Ireland to attend a family wedding couldn’t even leave the country because of quarantine restrictions. Now I have several days open at the end of March. Not to mention all the days I have open on account of cancelled meetings in the coming week.

Nothing unusual here, I know, but it is worth mentioning because it is so strange. I have never lived through a time like this, When such a large sector of the population has been sent home from school, work and play. When last in history were church services cancelled on such a vast scale? Who ever heard of theatres shutting, gyms closing, sports events being struck off the calendar, and guesthouses turning away guests?

Being an introvert and visually impaired, I am accustomed to spending time at home, but I’m not accustomed to others staying home too. When I stay in, everyone else is usually out shopping at the mall, attending sports matches, frequenting coffee shops and going to the movies. Now, all of a sudden, those people whose lives were too busy to read a book, do a jigsaw puzzle or work in The garden have time on their hands. It’s almost surreal. The balance is different. I feel different. Instead of picking up the stress and frustration of those busy people, I am detecting A piece which has eluded me for decades.

I’m guessing there are only a couple of places where the busyness has not abated. One of them would be the hospital. I spent three days at my local clinic this week following back surgery and witnessed this firsthand; in spite of cancelled visiting hours and limitations on who could come in, the staff where under extra pressure because of increased anti-infection controls. The other place would have to be government offices, where everyone is working overtime to keep up with the spread of the virus and adjust guidelines and restrictions. I believed people have been descending on grocery stores too, with the intention of stocking up in case of shortages, but this seems unnecessary to me. Online shopping is fairly commonplace in our city and it is unlikely that supply chains would break down as long as there is fuel to keep the wheels turning and the lights on. Farmers are still producing vegetables which need to be taken to market. Manufacturers are still producing packaged products which need to be sold to ensure cash flow. Truckers still seek goods to transport around the country to keep their businesses afloat.

Aside from the hospitals and government, therefore, it seems we are in a season of extraordinary slowdown. If we can avoid fearing the future and what it might bring, and if we can sit in the moment and appreciate the chance to unwind, we could experience this as a period of rest. We might even call it a holiday, Since the word “holiday” derives from “holy day”, a time designated for focusing on the bigger picture as opposed to day-to-day work.

It wasn’t long ago that people were complaining about being too busy to think straight, stressed out of their minds, pressurised to the point of burnout, and driven to distraction. Well, that situation has changed. Through no action of hours, the world has been put on hold. Hopefully, this respite will enable us to realign our thinking, to become less consumed with self-preservation and more attuned to the needs of others. Society is full of disparity, and we could benefit from reaching out more — to give or to ask for help, depending on our circumstances. Let this be a time of readjustment, where we return to a more humane pace of life. May we all gain something precious and come out on the other side with a better grasp on what we live for.