It is believed that Shakespeare wrote some of his best works including King Lear and Macbeth while he was in quarantine from the plague in the 1600s.
A few years later, Isaac Newtown self-isolated from the plague in an old farmhouse in northern England. During his time in lockdown, the Cambridge student invented calculus and pondered a theory of gravity while watching apples fall from a tree.
Post Pandemic Silver Linings In A Year We Would Like To Forget
As we now appear to be emerging, at last, from an experience that only comes along once in a hundred years, are there any silver linings for which we can give thanks? Here are perhaps a few:
1. A Lesson In Endurance. As a nation of survivors, we have demonstrated once again that the human spirit is capable of enduring shared hardship and tragedy. Like the generations before us who suffered through the Great Depression and world wars, we too now have some lessons to pass along to our children’s children about God’s faithfulness in the midst of tribulation.
2. Strength Through Isolation. Throughout the pandemic we witnessed examples of those who lay aside their personal wellbeing to care for those who were vulnerable. Whether you refrained from hoarding groceries to leave enough for others in the community, or offered to run errands for shut-ins afraid of leaving their homes, there is one thing that coronavirus has taught society: to take notice and reach out to those in need.
3. Reinforcing Family Ties. According to one Pew Research survey, one third (33%) of Americans mentioned positive impacts to their relationships, including being able to spend more time with spouses, children or other family members who no longer have to spend their days at work or school. The Institute for Family Studies reports that teenagers got more sleep, felt closer to their parents and had a more positive outlook on life in 2020 than in 2018. Fifty-six percent of teens reported spending more time talking with their parents during COVID than before, and 68% said their families had drawn closer.
4. Slowing Down The Pace of Life. Albert Camus once said: “In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” For many of us, the pandemic turned down the speed on life’s treadmill and allowed us to an opportunity to reflect on gifts and relationships we may have taken for granted.
5. Necessity As The Mother of Warp Speed Invention. The passion and urgency with which the scientific and medical communities came together globally to produce safe and workable vaccines for the COVID pathogen is nothing short of miraculous. It now appears that the innovative medical discoveries gained through the race for a safe, effective vaccine produced unexpected significant insights into ways to curtail the spread of other highly contagious viruses.
6. Testing Positive For Resiliency. People of all ages have proven that they are resilient. They have been able to adapt and pivot to new ways of managing their lives and embrace the incredibly abrupt shifts required as pandemic restrictions have grown and changed. In the legal profession, attorneys found ways through virtual meetings, Zoom depositions and court hearings and other forms of technology to continue representing clients in need. Surprisingly, even those who were intimidated by this technology before the pandemic came to embrace it.
We are careful not to demean the seriousness of the pandemic and the toll it took on human life with platitudes. Several thousand families in the U.S. still mourn the loss of a friend or loved one. At the same time, we may honor those whom we have lost by pausing to give thanks and acknowledging God’s faithfulness in the midst of the storm.
Larry L. Crain
Crain Law Group, PLLC
