A mile along the roses

Coronavirus. Social distancing. Weeks without gathering. Facebook flooded with boredom games. I do understand how you feel, but not in the way you think. Spoiler alert: I am very much not bored; in fact, I love this self-isolation.

As of late, I am finding “walk a mile in my shoes” to be quite appropriate. It’s not because I think I am somehow in need of going “HAH”, in utterance of my challenges as an introvert. I do, however, see the effects on people not being used to my world, now having to physically distance themselves from others. You should also know that I am hesitant to call it “social distancing”, because, as an introvert, this hasn’t really changed all that much for me.

Alright, so now you think I am an unshaved troglodyte never leaving my apartment? Well, no. I think we can all agree on the general view of “social” as being out and about and meeting people in person. While I am not by nature this way, it is unavoidable in non-pandemic times. So for a primarily extroverted person, recharging is typically handled by being close to other people. But there are fundamental differences in the definition of being “social” when looking from my –an introvert’s– perspective.

I am, for once in my life, in control of the socialising that suits me

You see, the social contact I have is very selective (quality>quantity), and doesn’t always even need to be in person. Calling, chatting or texting somebody counts towards my being social. What’s more, blogging, journalling (talking to a future audience) and maybe even poetry is a very social thing for me, because I get to sit down, think deeply, and then share it with people. The things I share through such means are seldom available in any other format from me.

Now you’re probably thinking, “you can blog and write at anytime –you don’t need a quarantine!” While that’s true, there’s only so much energy a person can expend in 24 hours. For me, having to daily exert myself to be around people –to be “social” according to the general consensus– takes away from the time and energy I would use on the “real” social me. Through this pandemic self-isolation, I am, for once in my life, in control of the socialising that suits me. And this is amazing. In fact, I feel like I still don’t have enough time in my self-isolation!

The world has become more serene

It’s also an amazing feeling when I feel like I want to go outside and maybe see people. It’s not that I am clamouring for social “un-distancing”, but rather that I for once have sufficient amounts of energy to actually be around people. It’s kind of like an extrovert’s need to go home and rest, away from noise and maybe booze.

Again, I am not condoning shadenfreude, but I am always interested in understanding people, and also helping others understand me. But, let’s face it: the modern world is made for extroverted people, and that sometimes makes it extremely hard for me to do the things I want to do and to exercise the creativity that only comes from silence, contemplation and reflection. However, the world has become more serene recently, and I am already seeing people trying to adapt, suddenly getting a glimpse into my world. And it makes me happy, because I believe it is a rare opportunity for us all to slow down and smell the proverbial roses.