The world is not ending, but it is slowing down. Many of us haven’t had the chance to experience living at a slower pace until now, so the transition many of us are going through is shocking. Maybe we struggled to stay positive before, and now there is less hope. But when things slow down, it forces us to look at details. Many of us were looking for happiness outside ourselves in the form of distractions…but now, since we are all at home, we have no choice but to come to terms with ourselves. Some of us would instead not look inside ourselves and sedate ourselves at home with food, drinks, or entertainment while biding our time. But choosing entertainment over self-educating comes with a couple significant costs. The first is that we spend valuable time entertaining ourselves versus knowing ourselves. We wouldn’t have changed much coming out of this virus quarantine panic, and when things finally blow over, we will return to life the same. And then the next crisis, the same pattern. But those who choose to learn during this crucial time fortify themselves as independent people who unwillingly become the source of help and positivity during the next crisis. The second cost is health, which erodes with anxiety. If we are already cooped up, uncomfortable, annoyed, exhausted, and everything, not knowing when this quarantine will end will make it seem like the feelings we have now will also last indefinitely. In this sense, the environment in the head becomes much worse than the epidemic we face. Things are slowing down, but far from ending. We need a breather to become accustomed to what it feels like to not live a rushed, routine life. As the saying goes, “The devil is within the details.” This is a rare chance for many of us to examine our lives in detail and maybe also absolve some demons that plagued us even before this plague.

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