In Common Light

“Something seems different, everyone seems happier,” my friend said to me as we walked with our senior class from the football field to our lunch period. My friend and I both had noticed a change in the general social atmosphere after attending school online for the past year and a half.

“I think what it is is that everyone has found themselves,” I said to her. It seemed like people were not as concerned with complacency or going along with the crowd and were more concerned with being themselves. This isn’t to say that I witnessed accounts of emboldened, heated discussion or anything. Or people taking complete turns in their behavior, seeming to be a completely new person. It just seemed like people were more confident. “I think you are right,” my friend said to me.

Quarantine Offered Space From the “Real World”

My theory of why people seemed happier also was fitting for me. Quarantine gave me a chance to take a step back.

Quarantine, separating me physically from my peers, gave me a chance to separate mentally — from all that I had felt pressured from, from the complacency of a continual routine of waking up at 7 and going to school until 3, just as everyone before me had done and everyone after me would do.

The Benefits of Stillness

With my extra free time, I began to do things outside of my normal, busy routine. I journaled a lot more, I began weight-lifting and doing yoga. I don’t think I was alone in picking up new habits. I heard accounts of many people picking up a new hobby like an instrument or a craft.

I not only embraced boredom, intentionality, and reflection, I also picked up mediation. According to a meta-analysis by Keng and colleagues, meditation is associated with “Increased subjective well-being, reduced psychological symptoms and emotional reactivity, and improved behavioral regulation,” (2013).

Even when quarantine ended, I continued these habits. After reflecting with my friend that day at school, I began to wonder what my senior year would have been like if I hadn’t practiced them. And, if it weren’t for quarantine, if I would have picked them up.

Conclusion

Why did it take quarantine, then, to notice that I needed to pause and really find myself? Why was I not made aware of the benefits before-hand? It makes me wonder how powerful a bit of quiet reflection could be, how much it could change our well-being — and if our busy routines and normal lifestyles, outside of a quarantine, are hampering this ability.

What would a few moments of stillness — whether it be through meditation, introspection, quiet reflection — do for you?

References

Keng, S.-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011, August). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical psychology review. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3679190/