It’s safe to say that these last few weeks (and months for some around the globe) have been just fucking bizarre. Going from a place of perfect normalcy and let’s face it, complacency to turning the whole situation into a real-life version of ‘contagion’.
And suddenly you dust off your primal instincts which have
been gathering dust in the last few decades and you replenish your supplies of
fear and your ‘survival instinct’ (which lead to the infamous TP
disaster).
Quarantine is not normal. Choosing to stay inside because
you’re an introvert and simply preferring to watch anime all day is a TOTALLY
LEGITIMATE LIFESTYLE THANK YOU VERY MUCH but it’s with the acute awareness that
if you did decide to spend the day outside, you could. But when
self-isolation suddenly becoming the mandate – time spent at home doesn’t quite
feel like it used to. The four walls around you may just feel a little more
claustrophobic than comforting.
Do you know what the most annoying thing is? Unless you
believe in the theory that Covid 19 is a man-made bioweapon, there’s nothing
substantial you can point your finger at and hate. It’s impossible to personify
and therefore villainize a fucking piece of code. A virus is a thing with no
brain or intention, no evil cackle or plans of world dominion – even if that’s
exactly what it’s ultimately doing.
So if you’ve had some time alone with your thoughts, which
seems more likely with the quarantine, you’re finding out that your brain is a
pain in the ass and is taking you to some dark places.
In this case, though, I don’t think it is necessarily
paranoia alone, but it’s your brain instinctively trying to prepare you for the
worst. So that if the worst does happen, that somehow, by
having run through the situation in your mind (i.e. the prepping stage) you may
be able to better cope with it if it does come to pass. And the truth is, mine
delves into diluted forms of nihilism. I’d like to say it’s the kind of
nihilism that eases the weight as opposed to make you all cynical and dark and
an absolute pain to be around (which doesn’t help if others are confined with
your sorry ass).
Nihilism in itself is the assumption that life is
meaningless which has never been quite my philosophy, but if you follow it down
to some of its logical conclusions and mix it with a sprinkle of Buddhist
acceptance, it’ll lead you to ‘whatever happens, happens’. I feel confident in
this when it comes to my own mortality, but I’ll jump ship and embrace becoming
a fully-fledged hypocrite the second it comes to my loved ones and will disavow
nihilism in a second. I’m trying to work on it, so I can find monk-like
understanding in something as natural as the concept of mortality even when it
comes to losing people I love.
I feel this fusion of nihilism and Buddhism is a better way
to go then Darwinism which at this point in time leads to some dumbass buying
18000 bottles of sanitizer and price gouging the hell out of it. Today, as
dispersed and disconnected as we are because of technology, the virus forces us
to work as a team. This means letting go of grudges and prejudices and the need
to park your belief in individualism because your actions right now do affect
others. This one time, you can’t be the only authority you listen
to unless you live in the middle of nowhere with no one else around. Let’s all
take some responsibility and see if we can’t minimize the harm we’re
experiencing.
In the meantime, if you’re scared beyond your wits because
of your parents and grandparents, those with immune or lung complications – I
hear you. I’m absolutely terrified myself, and that’s the only thing that gives
me pause but while you may feel powerless – every single day you spend in
self-isolation, see it as an active step of fighting the pandemic. It’s weird
that sitting on your ass is the act defiance that we need –
but it is. Because we’re all sacrificing something precious. In the meantime,
and I know I don’t have to tell you this, don’t leave anything unsaid.
