Quarantine Bloglette: Resignation versus Reconciliation

Midway through A Gentleman in Moscow (by Amor Towles), the Count talks about the difference between being resigned to one's situation (in his case, house arrest) and reconciled to it. If you plan on reading A Gentleman in Moscow, which I highly recommend, you might want to skip the next paragraph.

After not leaving the hotel for a few years and seeing the quality of service in the fine dining room drop considerably, the Count himself takes on the job of head waiter. He's unsatisfied and thinks that the restaurant is above the lower level of service that has started to be displayed, so he steps in to remedy the situation, rather than complain about it.

To resign ourselves to our situation is an important step, but it's only a step. We also need to figure out how to reconcile ourselves to the fact that it still may be weeks before we can move about freely again.

Resigning ourselves to isolation takes some faith in the medical community. It takes a spirit of cooperation over stubborn resistance. And it takes caring enough about ourselves and those around us to do our part.

Reconciling ourselves takes more creativity and effort. I've heard people talking about the Corona
15 - the amount of weight many of us risk gaining as we sit here with food readily at hand all day long. Corona, you may know, means crown. I'd like to hear about things more befitting the name corona. What can our crowning achievements be in our sequestration?

I'm so impressed with businesses that have figured out creative ways to not only stay in business and make money, but to keep their clientele happy. For example, the owner of an arcade that needed to shut its doors due to the pandemic decided to use his staff to clean up the games and rent them out to customers who now have them in their homes for entertainment during this quarantine. You just can't be mad when you're playing pinball. Okay, yes you can. Tilt!

There are many examples of businesses figuring out how to thrive rather than fold during this time. How can the individual thrive? Part of my reconciliation has been to share my efforts at writing. My neighbor is also working on a novel, so he and I get together now and then to talk about our challenges and successes. I've not been working on Russian like I'd hoped, however, I just signed up for Skype sessions with a teacher.  I try to change up what exercise I do, so it doesn't get too mundane. Yesterday I ran, this morning I did some yoga. I've mentioned playing the piano in the Embassy - I'm making good progress on memorizing Mendelssohn's Venetian Boat Song #2. I also have my soprano and alto recorders with me. The fingering is different - what is a G on the soprano recorder is a C on the alto, so that gives my brain a challenge. And every Wednesday, I Skype with a friend in Vladivostok and on  Fridays, I meet a friend for lunch at the Embassy diner. That gives me something to look forward to throughout the week.

With that, I'll ask once again: What can our crowning achievements be in our sequestration?

I think this painting is by Jean Joveneau, who painted in the early 1900's. (Thank you, Kalliope.) I saw it in a gallery in Vladivostok.