What have we learned, during the lockdown period? What have we valued and what have we hated?
Restrictions are now gradually easing, but it is still necessary for us to be very careful as the virus is still active. We have been thinking about what has changed during the pandemic both for the good and otherwise.
On the plus side there are a number of situations which are worth mentioning. For instance, many parents have enjoyed spending more time with their children for these last few months. Playing and walking as well as helping with home schooling.
People we have spoken to have enjoyed not having to travel each day, and being able to organise their time more to suit themselves. Less pollution from travel generally has certainly helped the environment.
As we have been unable to go to cinemas, restaurants, and shops except online perhaps some have saved money. Some people have learned new skills having more time on their hands. Those of us who decided to bake homemade bread had a problem finding yeast and flour. Whilst some have made good use of their skills to sew for the NHS making aprons, masks, little hearts and so on.
This time has shown how generous some people can be with their time, energy and skills. Captain Tom again should be mentioned here, not just for the amount of money he raised but also for inspiring others to try to do the same. We truly appreciate the hard work and genuine care of those working in the NHS and all the other frontline workers and the sacrifices they have made.
We have been able to discover new areas to walk in, sometimes on our doorsteps, and have enjoyed the countryside and the birds heard more clearly due to less traffic. However, lessons have also been learned about our priorities. For instance, we might have learned not to take things for granted. That the majority of us benefit from contact with others. We need our families and friends. We need to ask for help sometimes which wasn’t always easy to accept.
We have had to be patient for things to begin to get back to normal and to accept the position we are in. We have had to stick to definite rules for the sake of society at large – another way of showing love to our neighbour. We have learned that Zoom is wonderful but is no substitute for seeing people in the flesh, and certainly no substitute for a hug. Learning new skills in technology at this time has been a challenge for those at the older end of the scale.
Of course, it has been especially difficult for those who have had to shield for so many weeks. Also, for anyone who has been bereaved during lockdown, it has been unbelievably difficult grieving in solitary.
I think it must be mentioned that many parents have found juggling home schooling with working from home a great challenge which has caused much anxiety in some households and teachers have become far more appreciated!
Whilst we understand the need to use face masks in many circumstances during this pandemic, we are losing so much from not being able to exchange facial expressions with others with whom we are communicating with. The spiritual philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg’s experiences revealed the significance and importance of facial expressions in what we might call the afterlife of spirit.
‘When people’s spirits first enter the world of spirits, which happens shortly after they are brought back to life, their facial appearance and sound of voice are similar to those they had on earth, because they are then in the state of their outward selves; their inner selves have not yet been uncovered. This is their first state after death. But later the face changes and becomes completely different, in keeping with their dominant feeling or love, consistent with the state that their inner minds were in on earth, and their spirits while in the body. For the face of a person’s spirit is very different from the physical face. Your physical face comes from your parents, but your spirit face comes from the love it feels; it is the image of it.’ (Heaven and Hell section 457 by Emanuel Swedenborg)
‘The faces of angels (in heaven), are the outward forms of their inner selves; that is, the feelings that come with what they love and believe. This is why an angel who is outstanding in wisdom instantly sees from the face what another is like. No one there can hide by facial expression what they inwardly think and feel, and so pretend to be other than what they really are and use their cunning and hypocrisy to bamboozle others completely. It does happen sometimes that hypocrites do insinuate themselves into communities……..(but they cannot keep up the pretence for long) and soon begin to feel pain inside, to be tortured; they turn black and blue in the face, almost as if they were on the point of dying.’ (This passage corresponds in the Word to Matthew 22 v 11-14.) (Heaven and Hell 48 by Emanuel Swedenborg)
Copyright Christine and Nigel Sutton
