Quarantine Bloglette: Walls Opening Up

In A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, the Count, in his confinement, is said to feel the ceiling drop, floors rise and walls move in upon him. He then makes the acquaintance of a young girl, who shows him some hidden-away parts of the hotel he's not seen. She is under the care of a disinterested governess and also limited to the confines of the hotel. But for her, as she has explored, the walls have opened up rather then closed in on her.

This has me wondering how I can figuratively explore and open the walls of my confinement during this pandemic.

I wrote about listening to lectures from the course Justice, by Harvard Political Philosophy Professor Michael Sandel. These lectures take my mind into the intricacies of ethics and morals in deciding what is just and unjust in society. I feel like I'm auditing the class. It challenges my beliefs and entices me to defend them. I never studied any philosophy, so this is good for my mind.

I don't have much of an exercise routine these days. I'm used to grabbing a book and getting on the bike in the basement of our townhouse in Vladivostok. It's been a bit too cold and windy to run here, though I have gotten out a few times. I've done a little yoga. I have a few hand and ankle weights, but for the most part, I've reverted back to old fashioned calisthenics. I march or run in place, lunge, kick, squat and work my abs while watching Jeopardy.

Posting these daily bloglettes is pushing myself. They're turning out to be much longer than I'd thought they'd be. I hope they're interesting to read.

So, I've written this to encourage you to explore your home, your mind, your body (yeah, I know how that sounds) and see what you can do. Please share some good experiences you have in the comments section.

This is Girl in Yellow Shawl (Peasant from Muron) by Ivan S. Kulikov, 1905. I almost added this to yesterday's post because this makes me think of the pretty girls the Count likes to see and listen to in the cafe he frequents, though those girls probably aren't peasants.