I have been in quarantine for 40 days now.
If you asked me how long I have been at home in quarantine (without looking at a calendar), I would have no idea how to measure the time. Days pass very slowly, but they also quickly add up into weeks and months that seem to have disappeared in the blink of an eye. While we are here in this sort of holding pattern, I think it is a good reminder to not waste the time we have now--not to put everything on hold during this pandemic, even when we are closed inside. I am grateful to be alive right now, despite challenging circumstances, and am doing my best to both give myself a little grace on days when emotions are difficult, while also finding the beauty in individual moments.
40 days at home. "40" seems to be shorthand in many religious texts for "a really, really long time." One need look no further than through the lens of Christianity and Judaism: the flood that lasted 40 days and 40 nights in the Old Testament of the Bible, or the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness during his fast in the New Testament, the 40 years that Moses spent walking in the desert and 40 nights on top of Mount Sinai receiving the ten commandments. In the culture of Islam, Muhammad was forty years old when he first received the revelation delivered by the archangel Gabriel. In the Hindu faith, one of the popular fasting periods consists of 40 days and is called the period One 'Mandala Kalam.' Anand Sahib, the fifth and the final of the daily Sikh prayers have 40 paragraphs, and the 40th paragraph is often read when concluding any Sikh ceremony. 40 seems to pop up quite a bit in myriad religious traditions.
In all of these traditions, there is an element of faith that typically surrounds the use of this length of time. Things may be hard, but if you press through with belief of a better time, there will be good things to come. People prosper. Gain perspective. Cultivate communities. Receive knowledge. And so on.
While I draw on many faiths to enrich my connection with God, I firmly believe that all of these beautiful traditions are just different windows to the same entity. During this time of physical distancing, I am calling on my own spiritual reserves to help me find my faith during this "really, really long time" with an unpredictable future. Because in the end, that is the crux of both faith and of courage. It is impossible to be brave or courageous without first fearing what is ahead and marching forward anyway. It is impossible to have faith without first experiencing a situation with an unknown ending and choosing to have belief.
In this time of uncertainty and worry, I hope you will join me to turn inward and recognize the fears before proceeding with bravery and belief. It need not even be to a spiritual or religious figure; belief in healthcare workers performing medical miracles, in delivery and grocery workers to bring fresh food, in yourself to breathe through the next moment, and the moment after that. As I said, the moments add up slowly, but quickly become so much more. Hang in there, friends, and have some faith that humanity can get this right.
Prepare, don't panic.
-Allison
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