Alone; Together

When Narcissus died, the pure water lake turned salty. The forest asked the lake: "what has made you turn bitter?"

 The lake sobbed:

''Separation from my marrow had made me shed tears, the water will forever remain unsweetened."

 

Greetings to readers around the world. As the coronavirus rages, social distancing is an important way to slow down the spread of this pandemic. But I do understand that social distancing, for many, could mean feeling isolated and lonely in times of stress and uncertainty. Life without each other is hard, loneliness can kill the bravest among us all. We are social beings and not meant to be alone. We are Narcissus, we are the lake. We need each other. We need others to reflect us to ourselves just as the lake reflected Narcissus's beauty. Imagine if Adam would have proceeded to the earth alone, would he have been able to originate the human race? The strangers who walk past, the passengers who sit beside us, the vendors who give us those cheesy smiles, the customers who show their annoyance, all of them design this life of ours. But who would've thought that a horrendous disease would strike the world, a disease whose remedy is isolation, detachment, and separation? Maybe, if we had some idea, we would not have taken these relations for granted... 

We thrive when we feel connected and supported by each other, and we suffer when connection and support are not available. People we meet daily, people who we never thought were important, maybe the universe is giving us this time to consider the connections we took for granted. People whose value we underestimated. This time is not to fear death, it will come, and it is bound to come. This time is a blessing; a blessing for the earth is reviving; a blessing for us as we're getting a break to think about the things we missed, to ponder over ourselves, our relationship with this world, with humans, with animals, with nature, with our soul, with our God. We need to connect with others, but we can't connect with others when we are disconnected from ourselves. We need to share love with others, but we have no love to share when we are not loving ourselves. We may be alone in these times, but try not to be lonely. A person is alone when he is by himself, a person is lonely when he feels abandoned or sad due to isolation. Use this time to understand yourself, to meet yourself. Read, write, paint, listen, talk, sing, dance, and pray. Remember, Shakespeare wrote King Lear and Macbeth under quarantine during a plague. 

We are alone, but we are together, we are connected, in every way, to the world around us, to the universe we can't even see. Spread love, hope, and togetherness during this time. May God bless us all. 

Regards,

Yashal Jalil