The past few months have been really challenging for the world. At a personal level, the shock of living in times of a pandemic has impacted me in ways I never imagined.
As confinement began, it became clear to me that it’d be important to take breaks from information to protect my mental health. It was overwhelming to read so many articles related to economies collapsing, layoffs and increasing number of of COVID cases.
I remember reading a headline that suggested that the world would never be the same again. It was scary to think about that possibility. Nowadays, the term “new normal” starts to be more common. It’s difficult to imagine how the aftermath is going to look like for each one of us. Even when COVID goes away, the collateral damage will still be around in our personal lives.
Lately, I’ve been trying to focus on the little things that may serve as distractions. Those things that, just for a moment, make me smile or laugh or make me notice kindness in one way or another. We all need that spark of joy in our daily lives. If we pay attention, we can find it.
Here’s my personal list of sparks of joy:
Banksy’s latest piece of work. He reminds us that heroes do exist.
Street artist Banksy has unveiled a new piece of artwork honoring health care workers that he's donated to a hospital.
It shows a child playing with a nurse doll wearing a face mask and cape, while other superhero figures are in a wastebasket. https://t.co/UlgAbnlRxD pic.twitter.com/vAXsYu5pms
— CNN (@CNN) May 8, 2020
Spotting cats around my community. His name is Milk Dud, and he’s a friendly cat.
This fragment from a Simpsons episode. Worker and Parasite might not make sense to you, but every time I see this, I laugh.
This interview with the late musician Florian Schneider. It’s so awkward and funny.
https://twitter.com/synthriot/status/1258105548802850817
This song.
What are the little things that make you happy?