Quarantine Bloglette: Isolation or Insulation?

To describe what we're going through in this pandemic, I've heard the terms quarantine, self-isolation, lock-down and sequestration. I was praying the other day, or talking to myself - not really sure which - when the word insulation came out when I meant isolation. This is often how prayer works with me. Ideas slip into my mind. In isolating ourselves, we're being insulated from the coronavirus. Not only is this a positive outlook on our isolation, it's way beyond rose-colored glasses; it's true.

I spent some time with our Regional Psychiatrist when I first got to Moscow. I told her that I was experiencing some anxiety. She asked me to tell her what was making me feel anxious. And you know what? It was hard to answer her. That doesn't diminish my anxiety, it just means it's hard to verbalize. The only answer I could provide was anxiety about the unknown: How long this would go on? Would I or Douglas get sick? Would our parents get sick or worse while we're stuck here? Some of the same anxieties I think we all have.

These are the same things that, given enough attention, can always provoke anxieties in our lives.

I have spent too much time judging those who refuse to self-isolate. Right now,  I wish I could reassure them that the world isn't up to something sinister while they're at home. But I can't. Because the world is up to something sinister. Human beings are being attacked by a virus just as actively as humans were attacked in Independence Day and A Quiet Place. (If they were in those movies, they'd be shouting at the think in a Quiet Place, "You won't get me!" They'd be jumping around wiggling their fingers with their thumbs in their ears at the aliens in Independence Day. Oops, there I go judging again.)

I really wish I could comfort the contrarians, but they're rejecting the only comfort offered right now: stay home, stay clean and protected, stay safe. That's insulation.

An old commercial touting the safety of seat belts comes to mind. One woman gives her reasons for not wanting to wear one: it wrinkles her clothes. Cut to the same woman, paralyzed from a car accident, being fastened into her wheel chair. The caregiver says in a sing-songy voice, "Now I know this will wrinkle that pretty little dress of yours, but . . ." In another scene, a young man doesn't want to wear one because he feels too constricted. Cut to him in traction after a tragic accident.

Trust in God, trust in yourself and make sure there are enough life vests on the boat!

Insulation. Maybe some people think they are naturally insulated from this virus. I don't know. But I do know that I need to stop judging them. They need care and understanding. I don't know if any of us can give them understanding, but we can offer them care.

This is our shared backyard. Even in our isolation, we are blessed to have some space.

At the far end of our yard is this small grove of evergreens. This is just the kind of spot in which I'd have made a fort as a child. A nice, secluded spot to hide away.