by Dimitri Kourtoulos Photos by Andrada
1. Neighborly Love
The lockdown has reminded me of those 60’s European films where people would wake up in the morning, go on the balcony with a coffee in hand and talk to their next-door neighbors while waving to the ones across the street! These are scenes from a bygone era which are more than welcome now.
I hope that this friendliness and openness to talk and interact with people, who are literally only separated by a wall, will continue. This whole situation has helped communities strengthen in a way that seemed impossible just a few weeks ago.
2. New Age Chefs
Most countries have had strict curfews permitting people from getting out of the house more than once a day (excluding work). Due to this, fresh bread or cakes that you would normally buy from the bakery were now impossible to get. This has forced people to awaken their inner Gordon Ramsey by trying out recipes given to them from their grandmother or from a random video on YouTube.
Many bread, cakes, pies and pizzas have been created, eaten and burned during the lockdown with pictures being sent left and right showing off their creation. It’s great to see people experimenting with creating things in the kitchen, something that rarely happens nowadays due to time and the easiness to get them ready made and delivered.
3. Creatively Informative
For years now the internet has been flooded with lazy ‘funny’ videos and recycled memes ad nauseum. Online celebrities follow the same formula to get clicks and likes on their content with creativity dwindling and idiocy rising.
During the lockdown I have been really surprised by the effort that some people have made to make content that is actually funny, well thought out and also considerate! The internet has been full of click bait titles and cheap, lazy, below the belt content for too long and I’m hoping that the new injection of creative and informative content continues.
4. Working from home
The sudden change in routine of commuting to work every day, saying good morning to your colleagues and sitting at your computer needed some adjusting. Having to learn how to separate work hours from rest hours at home is a challenge, let alone having a set-up that allows you to work efficiently.
After tackling those problems though, working from home isn’t all that bad. I think it would be nice to be able to work 3 or 4 times a month from home. Being able to change environment, not having to wear work clothes and sometimes not having to talk to colleagues is a respite that I believe is needed every so often.
5. Time for others? Or time for myself?
This whole situation has made us understand the values of being or not being with friends, family or even acquaintances. Some have been forced to be with their spouses 24/7 while others have been required to stay away.
It’s not all about spending time with someone, but also understanding that you need your own moment within the die to do your own thing. Some couples have found it extremely hard to have their own time within the same living space. Whilst others have come to the conclusion that seeing and speaking with the same person every day is not what they see working in the future.
This whole situation has helped many of us find, understand and appreciate ourselves within an accelerated time frame. For some, it has aided their relationships between others to blossom, for others it has done the opposite.
After the lockdown, I hope that all of us give the same attention to ourselves and our relationships as we have done in the past three weeks; appreciating what feelings we have, don’t have and what we’re searching for.
