The Quiet Stillness
during quarantine
There was a Stillness Settling over communities
by Karla Locke
#StayHome #StaySafe
This was the directive mandated for Washington Citizens and others around the world. As we hunkered down in our homes a quiet stillness settled into our communities. We thought (more like hoped) this was a short term event, but it’s not. Weeks stretched into a month, and now it’s stretching into months, maybe even longer than a year.
But there was good in all of this. Our neighborhoods reverted back to what I remembered from childhood…. quiet, friendly, comforting. Gone was the busyness, the chronic stress of hurry-up, of people living a frantic-have-to-get-this-done life.
The sounds of Spring could be heard — yard work, birds chirping, bees buzzing. The sound beautiful and soothing.
Some might have found the quietness eerie, but I found solace in it. An openness solitude filled with gentle reflection and much needed time.
This wasn’t the case for some areas in the world, but even there they made use of what they had and created a beautiful place in which to endure.
Walking was a necessity for physical and mental well-being. We are so fortunate to live in a community where this was allowed and there was room in which to do without running into others — practicing our physical distancing.
It also became a way to explore.
To venture through surrounding neighborhoods. In the previous, “normal” life, we whizzed through these neighborhoods, not really noticing anything or anyone. But, now, suddenly I found the time to enjoy the present and find
the hidden beauty and unusual gems in our surrounding neighborhoods.
I know that many would like life to return to “normal.” I just wish they had found peace during this time and as they move forward they will slow down and really enjoy and commune with the NOW and their communities because that is all we really have and really need for our NOW and for our future.
I wish for a better “Norm.”
A return to when neighbors were actually neighbors, not someone hiding in their homes, removed from the world after a rough day. When family meant dinners together, game nights, time with our children. When life was slow
enough to enjoy a good book, play outside games, bake bread, putter in the yard, long walks, quiet Sundays, hand holding, and true QUALITY TIME.
There are many lessons to be learned from this time, but were we truly listening… Will we follow through and continue with some of what we learned? I hope so. I know I already miss some of what the quietness was offering to us and some of the benefits it was providing the World. I can already fill the pace picking up. Normal is not what it used to be, it’s what it should be — family, friends, neighbors, communities and a well-cared for Earth.
The following are a collection of photos from when quarantine first started. I have a creative need to capture solitude, empty chairs and benches, and just find emotion in the settings. I consider myself more of a street or in-the-moment type of photographer. When we went out for our walks I would often choose an idea or theme, searching for images that captured what I was yearning for in the moment.
Alleyways
Empty Seats
Quirky Things Found on Walks
In the Forests/Nature
Enjoy what you have, it could be gone tomorrow.
