By Emilio J. Sánchez
Miami-Dade Health
Several months have passed since the pandemic broke out in China and spread throughout the world. And despite this, COVID-19 still holds numerous secrets that scientists have not yet been able to discover.
Apparently, the sign of uncertainty will accompany us for a long time. However, doctors and researchers get closer to know much more about the virus, people get used to the new normality while they learn to deal with the disease and its effects.
Apart from the reality of hospitals and intensive care units, people experience the pandemic on two levels: news through the media and social networks, on the one hand; and the uncomfortable experience of confinement and social distancing, on the other.
Forecasts suggesting that epidemic waves of coronavirus will occur and the lack of a vaccine in the medium term suggests that many —especially those over 65 and people with other pathologies— will have to stay in our homes for a long time.
For some, the negative impact of confinement has translated into symptoms of depression, sadness, anxiety, and domestic violence. However, it is possible to take this situation proactively and take advantage of it for our spiritual enrichment.
The solitude that confinement implies is a golden (and unrepeatable) opportunity for self-knowledge, introspection, and the cultivation of engaging activities such as transcendental meditation, painting, writing, or reading.
Of course, if you don’t have the habit of being alone with yourself and the capacity for concentration and silence, it will be difficult for you to enroll in any of them. It is hard but, most important, NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
Now, I would like to talk about the subject that I know and enjoy the most: teaching Literature. It may not be too late for you to enjoy the pleasure of reading. It would be best to start with the SHORT STORY genre. Its brevity and impact give us the possibility of reaping an almost immediate gratification. Also, while training your ability to focus, you can prepare yourself to undertake more ambitious goals, for example, reading more short stories by the same author; from other authors or even start reading a novel, say 300 pages!
It is not an infallible remedy nor for everyone, but I can assure you that it is a pleasant way to stay alert and leave the borders of the home, meet people and countries, travel in the time machine, and experience situations never seen before. Whoever is accompanied by books is never alone.
Here are some suggestions for first-time readers or those who want to resume the habit after quitting the reading habit.
- Choose an illuminated place and a comfortable seat.
- Look for the background of the author you have chosen.
- Turn off the cell phone and avoid interruptions.
- Create a daily reading routine. Certain time of day; for half an hour or an hour.
- If you can’t focus, read aloud, and try to understand what was read.
- I recommend these authors, the Short Story Masters: Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson. His stories can be found free on the internet.
- Very important: if after the first page the story has not caught you, leave it and look for another one.
Of course, there are no miracles here. It may be that, after reading stories from three different authors, none convinces you. In that case, stop reading and try painting. Who knows, maybe there is a Vincent van Gogh within you waiting to be discovered …
