I’ve been doing a bit of world travel this week courtesy of a new group on Facebook called View From My Window. It is just as it sounds: photographs from around the country and around the world of what can be seen from the windows of our companions-in-quarantine. Many of the views are picturesque, but some are quite ordinary. There are beautiful vistas, suburban landscapes, city buildings crowded together.
The message, as basic as a Disney musical: we are all in this together. We may not eat the same food or speak the same language but we are committed to staying home and slowing the spread of an illness which is ravaging our neighbors, both near and far.
It’s an odd concept, which we don’t talk about enough in the US, that everyone in the world is our neighbor. It has become popular in some circles to focus only on what “makes America great” and the rest be damned. I find this to be at odds with many of the world’s great religions that, for example, preach love of neighbor as important as love of self, and challenge us to ask “who is my neighbor?” when we are inclined to think too small.
Along these lines I recommend “Lockdown around the world – part one” from a blog called In Africa and Beyond. It is a collection of brief narrative accounts of quarantine experiences from around the world. One is from Laura Kuckuda* of Columbia, Maryland. She writes:
My day to day schedule hasn’t really changed much. I’m lucky enough to still be working full-time remotely. Virtual platforms are nice, but I really do miss the 1:1 interaction with my co-workers who I have built personal relationships with.
The entire piece is worth the read. Even a mental journey to far-flung places is refreshing these days.
*Ms. Kuckuda blogs at Living and Loving Beautifully
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