199./ Shopping and the absence of human contact.
This lady likes to do her own shopping, and we cover the cost of it. We have a chat about lockdown, she lives alone and is finding it difficult, and getting more so. The lack of social interaction. The isolation. The continuous distancing. I wonder how long it is since she touched another human being. Probably months. This is so un natural for us. For people living alone, to be deprived of every human contact. To literally not be able to touch other people, not even a handshake, or a touch on the arm. It’s like solitary confinement. It’s really not good for us. And here we are. It asks deeply unsettling questions of us, this scenario, individually and collectively, about what we are willing to sacrifice, and for what, and for how long. It could change our entire culture, and with it, the people. Extraordinary. Some countries will be having the same experience of cultural identity adaptation. Others are just as they were before. So strange how this virus has isolated us, individualised us, and continues to do so, as individuals, households, small local communities, as a City, as a country, a Nation. The effect of it, and our response to it, is all about distancing. This is why it’s so so important to deliberately counter it with meaningful connections.
Thank you to Derek for supporting this lady.