On June 15, 2020
© By John Arkelian
© Illustration by Linda Arkelian
A little plague goes a very long way. Our accustomed routines
Tutu much social distancing – © 2020 by Linda Arkelian
suddenly stopped in their tracks in mid-March 2020, with a daily dose of isolation taking the unwelcome place of the lives we led before. To make matters far worse, it’s all for a term of unknown duration. The world feels like it has been turned upside-down and inside-out. We are awash in an unpalatable blend of anxiety and tedium, which can, if we let it, sap life of its meaning, purpose, and hope. But let it, we shall not! Even in isolation, there’s no end to what human ingenuity can devise for our mutual edification and entertainment. Spirits need lifting, and nothing serves that purpose better than the myriad of online creations designed to uplift and inspire and ignite our unquenchable curiosity. International film festivals, opera broadcasts, virtual tours of wondrous places, Shakespeare’s timeless plays, religious services, choirs, orchestras, and a tidal wave of creative output have put a virtual world of art and letters, science, nature, travel, faith, and laughter at our disposal.
There already is an antidote to the non-stop onslaught of worrying news. It comes in the form of shining moments of inspiration, like: (i) the public applause from residential buildings overlooking a hospital in Spain; (ii) the joyful singing from apartments facing a nighttime street in Siena, Italy, as a lone voice is spontaneously joined by many others (human and canine alike); (iii) the Ndlovu Youth Choir from South Africa singing an upbeat message about beating the virus; (iv) a Finnish student choir singing a heartfelt “Song of the Fearless,” and (v) an opera tenor in Italy doing an impassioned rendition of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” from his apartment balcony. Let’s take to heart its determined and dauntless credo of “Vincerò!” (“I shall overcome!”).
For one recent example of a light shining in the gloom, see the three-minute improvisational dance video “Lost in the Right Direction” reviewed in our Dance section at: