DAY 15: Covid-19 quarantine

Finicky spring sun offers hope, ushers in Easter

By Emma Palova

“Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul- and sings the tune without the words – and never stops at all.”

-Emily Dickinson

Lowell, MI – In spite of the grim daily statistics that more than 3,200 people have died from COVID-19 in NYC surpassing the number of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, spring and Easter are just around the corner.

I walked to the fish pond in the back of the garden this morning and I found some koi fish left that the heron hadn’t devoured in the fall. The pussy willow showed off its silvery and yellowish catkins, while the forsythia shrub was splashed with golden blooms.

This year, I appreciate spring and the gardens more than ever. I can walk outside the house, work in the garden and bathe in the sun, before it hides under the next cloud.

I learned this morning in meditation that when the top layer of the active mind, that constantly thinks and feels, gets fixated on anxiety, alarm, dread, and uncertainty, it cannot pull itself out of its own spiral.

“Mental activity becomes useless to heal itself, just as a runaway car cannot apply its own brakes.”

-Deepak Chopra

I’ve been down on energy for the entire length of the quarantine boggled down also with physical sciatica nerve pain, that just refused to go away much like the coronavirus outbreak.

I forgot to call my amazing Malaysian friend Zurina Ariffin; she had to remind me of her existence.

We talked about cooking, which is our common hobby among others. I immediately felt better. Zurina was making cashew chicken, as she announced that the Kent District Library (KDL) will probably be closed until May.

I felt like I was getting some reprieve today as I watched the fishermen on Murray Lake with the sun glistening on the water.

I worked on the front matter for the upcoming Greenwich Meridian Memoir. It went well, although I have to regain my focus.

Stay tuned for day by day coverage of the COVID-19 quarantine in Michigan.

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