Social Distancing - Don’t Do it!
Yes, you read that right, and no I am not advocating that you break the lock down rules and start going around hugging every person you might run into at the supermarket, when you brave leaving your home to replenish your toilet paper (I am still baffled by that craze). So please hear me clearly, I am all for physical distancing, I think it is the thing that is needed to help us prevent the spread of COVID-19, and flatten the curve irrespective of the country we live in. So please do your part for humanity, and stay home, stay safe, stay healthy, and above all stay sane.
Like many I am sure, the wording of “social distancing” has not sat well. I don’t believe as human beings we should ever social distance from each other. The wording flies in the very face of our existence, after all as humans are a social species. We belong to families, tribes, countries, clubs and Whatsapp groups (sometimes too many), but you get my point right! I basically hit the nail on the head right there, “we belong.” It is our “belonging" that is the cornerstone of our existence. There are four B’s which define our quality of life, “Belonging, Being, Believing and Benevolence.” Belonging means we have meaningful relationship with others based on shared values, common activities, rituals and customs.
Living in South Africa, and being on a national lockdown now for 20 days, I have come to realise how important social connections are for our wellbeing. Epidemiologists are projecting that the next wave of the COVID-19 impacts will be on the mental health of society. Social isolation is now the leading cause of loneliness, anxiety, depression and heavier consumption of drugs and alcohol. I think the impacts of COVID-19 on every person is vast and varied, and people have different coping mechanisms to get through what is possibly the most uncertain times of our generation. But I would like to share a perspective that might offer some help, relief and hopefully a release.
A better perspective
It’s a simple perspective, but for us in South Africa it is the glue that keeps us together. It’s a reminder of UBUNTU… which means “I am, because you are!”
In these days of adhering to physical distancing, remote working, virtual meetings, and homeschooling, I am offering the suggestion, that we stop and pay homage to our existence and need for each other.
Let's leave the “each man for himself” and “self-made” thinking behind, and take up the opportunity being offered to frame a new normal, an opportunity to put the focus back on what is truly important; to embrace that we are not islands, together we are truly better and that we are simply because of others.
For the wellbeing of humanity and yourself, please do not social distance, keep your connections alive, call family/friends that you know has been navigating lockdown alone, start a new virtual tradition with your family, host a virtual dinner/birthday party (its loads of fun), start/join a reading club, find a support group for homeschooling. Whatever you choose to do, remember your connection to others is important, not just for you but for others too.
Brené Brown captured this essence best when she said, “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved and to belong. When those needs are unmet, we do not function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.”
From a fellow lockdown-ee (yes I made that word up - I’m creative like that) — Please do not Social Distance - Keep your physical distance, but cherish your social connections. Stay safe, Stay healthy, Stay connected, Stay sane
