LIVING IN CORONALAND: a survival guide

By Andrea Guachalla

We are living in a crazy world right now. 

We all know that.

It feels almost as if we were suddenly trapped in one of those horror films about zombies. One quiet morning you wake up and quickly find out that everyone is a zombie and you’re left completely alone to search for human beings that won’t try to eat you. The only difference is that, well… There are no zombies here, just people wearing masks. And even if you’re quarantining alone, you are not really alone.

However, it does feel a little bit like the end of the world, doesn’t it? But let’s agree on one thing: living in Coronaland is not nearly as bad as living in Zombieland. 

You don’t need shotguns to protect yourself from infected people, for instance, you just need to wear a mask and keep your distance. You don’t need to hunt in order to get food, you can always go to the supermarket once a week or every two weeks. You can even grow your own vegetables if you’re smart and patient like my mother. 

You certainly don’t need a war-truck to go around the city, you just need a good pair of legs to walk or cycle so you don’t have to fearfully step in the public transport and then give a suspicious look at the lady sitting next to you because she just cleared her throat.

“Was that a cough?” 

No, Felicia, it was not. 

We are all responsible for taking care of our own health, and that looks different for each person. Some might have to avoid public transport, some might have to stay confined at home, some are more worried about their families than they are for themselves. Our health being in risk carries its own complexity, but that is not what makes life in Coronaland tricky. The other side of it does: 

We are humans and we. have. feelings and weaknesses. 

We are all going through challenges and difficulties, pain and suffering, and we all feel it deeply in our hearts.

Some people are quarantining alone, others had to cancel their flights to visit their family, some had a lonely birthday celebration, others had to cancel their wedding, while others had to rearrange/cancel huge conferences. And it can get worse and worse, some lost their jobs, some cannot pay their rents, some have a relative who is sick, some are holding funerals in under 20 minutes, not being allowed to have a proper funerary service for their loved one. 

You add to the list…

On top of all of that, we are to stay home, stay home, stay home. Alone with our thoughts.

To keep ourselves safe, we must submit to our authorities (Romans 13:7) and follow their instructions on social distancing and other measures. Nevertheless, that won’t necessarily keep us sane mentally, that won’t give us internal peace. 

Only our Holy Father can give us peace amid a global crisis, and give us the means to invest our time wisely in his eyes. That’s what will keep you sane, and that’s the aim of this survival guide that has been certainly keeping my mind on track this whole month of lockdown.

Now, before I go to the actual guide I want to give a clarification point without which all these words are meaningless, and that is: 

YOU CAN’T MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BETTER

You don’t have the strength, you don’t have the power, you don’t have the means to make yourself feel better in midst of the chaos because:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17, English Standard Version

You are a human being, one day you might feel impressively motivated, and the next one you might feel very down. Your feelings change like shifting shadows, but God… God never changes. His unconditional love, righteousness, mercy, and justice never change. He is the opposite of us, shifting shadows, he is always the same. For eternity.

You might be able to force yourself to get up every morning even if you’re completely unmotivated, you might be able to stick to a healthy routine and maybe learn something new while in lockdown. However, none of those things will ultimately give you true-lasting joy and peace. They come from God.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:4-7, New International Version

All good things come from above. If you ask God in prayer, he is the one who will fill you with joy, peace, and motivation. Can you see that none of those things come from you? 

I know the fact that you’re not in control of your own well-being makes you feel powerless and weak: that’s exactly the point. You are a powerless person in the hands of an almighty, all-knowing, and loving God who tells you: “Don’t be afraid.” (John 6:20)

Isn’t that comforting? I hope it is, my friend.

With all that said, we can go to the survival guide.

1. FIND A ROUTINE, STICK TO IT

This is the first of all because it will certainly help you be disciplined and carry on with the rest. 

Now that you’re in lockdown you’re working from home, studying from home, exercising at home, trying to socialize from home, and even going to church from home (can I say home just one more time?)

Although you might feel tempted to keep yourself busy, what you really wanna do is to INVEST. YOUR. TIME. 

I, myself, spent two weeks of my lockdown just trying to occupy my time with random activities,  only to find that overwhelming myself with purposeless activities was causing me more anxiety than the whole crisis. 

So, with the right mindset, you can build a routine from morning to evening in order to be productive and effective. Sometimes this means that you will wake up earlier and exercise, or that you will try to read more than you usually do, maybe it will mean that you spend some time on the computer writing a new project, or maybe that you will clean your whole apartment twice a week. 

Being productive and effective will look different for each of us, but the same idea remains: We ought to use our time wisely. The fact that you’re not using public transport as often as before adds a couple of hours to your day, so USE THEM. 

Something useful that I’ve been doing for years is (not so often nowadays because I memorized the list): you wake up in the morning and first thing even before breakfast you take a piece of paper and write down a list of everything that you must/need or want to do that day: eat breakfast, then read a book, have your quiet time, check your emails, have lunch, call your family, etc. By the end of the day, you cross all the things you accomplished from the list and leave the rest uncrossed. That way you’re more aware of how productive you were, and at what times you tend to be lazy.  

Organizing your time will help you get things done and be productive and intentional. It will help you invest your time rather than just keep yourself busy, and having everything written down will help you keep track of what you’ve been doing (or not doing). 

2. SEEK GOD NO MATTER WHAT

There are no excuses anymore for not having your quiet time every day. No “I’m tired”, no “I don’t have time”, no “I have too much school work.” 

Part of your routine, and I dare say the most important one, is to spend time with God reading his Word, praying, and praising him. Schedule it first thing in the morning, or last thing before going to sleep, maybe during lunch, or while you drink a cup of tea in the afternoon. 

Take time to approach God in prayer, “let your requests be made known to him” (Phil. 4:6), let him know your struggles and challenges. Approach him by reading his Word and taking notes, read a Christian book about a topic you’re interested in, watch sermons online, or re-watch the sermons that your church live-streamed that week! You can approach him by singing praises, listening to hymns and singing along. 

If you love God, spend time getting to know him and praising him. Believe me, he will fill your heart with joy, and the rest of your routine will be carried out just fine.

3. REMEMBER WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER

There is something weirdly comforting about knowing that the whole world is with you. Literally.

This is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon in which we are ALL going through difficulties and facing challenges. For the first time in your whole life you have the right to reach out to anyone you know, even your worst enemy, and ask them if they have enough toilet paper or how they are spending this time at home.

We might not be able to meet each other in a physical place, but we have all kinds of means (Skype, Zoom, Whatsapp, Messenger, etc) to reach out to others and have a remotely normal social life. 

Furthermore, this is the time to be creative and put in action the “love your neighbor as yourself” and find ways to serve others whether you are alone or with your family at home. You can re-adjust and find new ways to help in the household, ask your friends how they are doing, volunteer to do groceries for your elderly neighbor, ask that lady from the church if she is well stocked with food supplies, ask your friend who lives alone if he’s doing fine, organize a meeting online,…

All of those are ways to keep in touch not only for your sake but to serve others as well. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,” remember? (Mark 10:45).

4. RETAKE OLD PROJECTS

Remember that project you were writing two years ago and you said you didn’t have enough time to finish? What about the time you were learning to play the guitar, and suddenly the school work was so overwhelming that you couldn’t continue your lessons? What about the time you said you would get rid of the clothes you don’t use anymore and they are still getting old in your wardrobe?

Well… Now you can retake your old project!

No excuses.

Go to your browser, look for the file where you were writing your project, and continue where you left off! Set your mind to learn to play some chords on the guitar, you can set up sessions of 30 minutes a day to practice after lunch every day. Grab a plastic bag (a big one), go to your wardrobe, grab all of those clothes that you haven’t used for the past 2 years and throw them in, and never open that bag again. 

If you think you don’t have any undone projects, you just need to make some memory and, I assure you: you will find something.

5. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE

You’ve probably spent more time sitting in that same chair or sofa than you ever thought you would. 

All the time you used to spend running to catch the bus, walking to school, or going to the gym is now spent in the same place. Everyday. 

All that movement is not only good for your body but also your mind. So you have to find a way to move it as much as you can! Run up and down the staircases, download a fitness app, look for tutorials on YouTube, do some Zumba, dance to your favorite music, clean your house (that’s good exercise).

Your body needs to be active!

6. DISCONNECT TO CONNECT

I never thought I would say this but, my cellphone has become both my best friend and my worst enemy.

I won’t deny that it is very helpful for me to interact with my family, my church family, and my friends. That’s why it’s my best friend. However, using it for that praiseworthy cause leads me to overuse social media for the sake of being entertained. And that, my friend, is not praiseworthy at all!

If you are connected to your cell phone or any other device only for entertainment (whether it’s by scrolling down on Facebook, watching stories on Instagram, or watching series on Netflix) you disconnect from whatever is happening around you. And although that entertainment might give you a couple of minutes of “joy” and distract you from what’s going on in the world, that’s pretty much all it’s gonna do. At the end of the day, using your devices only for the sake of being entertained is pointless.

Relaxing and having times of leisure are important things, but those times can only be worthwhile when they are spent wisely. If you disconnect from your cell phone, TV or computer, you connect with your family if they are with you, you connect wholeheartedly with what you’re doing. 

Disconnect from social media, connect with the real world.

7. SERVE THE UNKNOWN

The world is extremely unequal. 

While some countries like Austria, Australia, Japan, and many others are accomplishing to reduce the spread of the virus, and are actively implementing policies to reduce the economic and social impacts the pandemic will have, some other countries will suffer greater consequences. This is not to say that high-income countries will not suffer, but it is to say that the deadliness of the pandemic will be more greatly felt in low-income nations.

Therefore, if you’re someone who is not greatly affected economically by the lockdown remember this: helping those in need is serving God himself (Matthew 25:40), and he has called us to love our neighbor.

We’ve already discussed some practical ways you can serve your nearest neighbors on a daily basis. But this last point in the survival guide it’s a call to empathize with the people you don’t know, you cannot see and you will probably never meet. Especially if you’re living in Europe, the United States, Australia or other high-income countries, chances are that you could save lives with whatever financial help you can offer.

As part of your weekly routine, you can set one or two hours aside to do some research regarding the measures being taken in other countries (or different regions of your own country), and how that’s affecting their economy and people’s lives. Find organizations that are supporting low-income countries and find out how you can contribute. If you have friends that are living in (or come from) South America, Central America, Africa, or Asia, be sure to contact them and ask them how they are doing. 

Empathize with all humans! Not only with those you know.

______________________

If we think humanly, doesn’t it seem completely pointless and meaningless to be living in Coronaland? Doesn’t it seem like the only thing left to do is wait for it to be over and then go back to normal?

If I answer with human wisdom to both questions I might say: “Yes” without hesitation. 

But God has another answer.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4, English Standard Version

By the grace of God, there is always something good and praiseworthy in any situation, no matter how hard it feels. By his grace, you can be sure that if you depend on him, his guidance and his word, you will not only survive, but you will be able to care for others with the perfect love of our holy savior Jesus Christ. 

Other sources:

9 Ways to Love Your Neighbor in This Pandemic, The Gospel Coalition

Locked Down Alone, Tim Challies