Onorina Botezat, Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University, Romania – WG1
I am very fond of proverbs, sayings, and short wisdom stories, as I do think one could easily learn from the others’ mistakes rather than pacing through one’s own. Sadly, it rarely happens. Do you remember the story of a man seeking his rabbi’s advice as his house has become too small for his entire family? Following his advice, the man and his family reassessed the premises. This is my general perception of what we are all experiencing right now. Reassessing every aspect of our life!
I have been watering and taking care of this little garden that my grandmother had put in place outside our flat building, for more than ten years now. I always knew that only her love for flowers and nature, in general, made it possible, as it was designed on some concrete and stones left-over after the construction was completed, so there was no natural premise to expect it would ever grow into such a beautiful green peace corner.
During the lockdown, as all parks are closed, it has been happily discovered not only by my neighbors and their lovely kids but by some curious birds that I never saw there before… The first ones never had the time because they were busy, rushing to work, to drive their kids to school, the second ones I might have never seen for the same reason. Leaving at the seaside, we are used to gulls, they do sometimes fly further from the shore and explore the city, but the cuckoo or the nightingale that enjoyed my roses arcade was, in terms of sound and image, a real treat!
Though distanced and confined, in some respects we grew closer and with all the online streaming, we opened our houses for so many and saw great artists at home (MET Gala at Home, The Voice Must Be Heard), a lot of writers going online to promote their books and remain in touch with their public, speaking from their home desk or Michelin stars chefs cooking with us from their kitchen (Cuisiner confiné with Corinne Marcheix on Figaro Live)!
This period made us focus and rely on our immediate community, our street, our neighborhood, our little home-working corner, which is not bad in a sense, for we never had time for that. Now we are happy we have at least those pivots to sustain our slow-motion life! Should we consider this the Best Viewing Distance? If yes, let us take the time to observe our life from close-up!
