Corona - "Is this the real life" - Queen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFKBR1ggTMY

"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me"

We often talk about "quality of life" being important. At the moment many people worldwide have little of it for a myriad of different reasons. I can only speak for myself.

There is no doubt that this is "the real life". It isn't a life I would chose, but there are benefits amid the many things I don't have.

I don't have freedom - to leave the house, to hug someone I love, to have face to face conversations with family, friends & aquaintances. The choices I can make are limited - I can't go for a walk or swim, visit friends & family, shop for myself... The property market is dead in the water, so I can't sell my house & move on. I'm in limbo not knowing how long this will last & what will happen at the end point. The only thing I do know is that it will eventually end, but life as we all knew it will be changed.

The benefits are subtle. The chance to catch up with things my former really busy life didn't give me time to do - things I let slide. The chance to spend time with myself & discover how well I can cope with that. Most people are co-dependent, so being deprived of social contact is very hard. Actually, I haven't found it too difficult. There is a huge difference between lonliness & solitude. The chance to think - about things that really matter, not just the minutiae of everyday life. Why are we here, how should we behave, what are our responsibilities to ourselves, others, our planet? Our previous lives were so manic - we all have the opportunity to reflect now.

Maybe this will be the catalyst which delivers us from our own self interested behaviours. Maybe the sacrifice & community spirit so many have found will empower us to build a better future for our children. The Corona Spring could be a proper new beginning.