More than two months have passed since the start of the COVID-19 quarantine and during all this time, much has happened in our lives and in our homes. It is curious to see and experience, without leaving our homes, so many things in our lives and in the whole world.
We are slowly starting to return to a life outside our homes and here at KŌNSE we have being thinking about how this whole situation has, and continues to change us. We are conscious that nothing will return to how it used to be, and we see in this great learnings and opportunities both from a personal to a social level.
This crisis has led us to stop and reduce our daily activities. Confined at home and without being able to leave with the exception of the most basic and essential activities, we have had to put aside our routines and acquired new ones. We have redesigned our lives, made changes and slowed down.
This break has had individual and global consequences. Overall, pollution levels have declined worldwide. The planet was screaming for help and attention, but were we willing to listen? To do something?
“This could be an opportunity to start learning to treat the planet differently and see how important it is to make environmental policies. It is a good training to behave in a way that is more in line with the environment and leave irrational energy consumption aside, because we cannot live with our backs to nature ”, Pedro Dorta Antequera, expert in natural disasters and climatology.
We hope that all this leads us to consciously and deliberately seek true sustainability and well-being, not only from a personal and individual perspective, but also as a collective. May this unity in which we have seen ourselves and in which we find ourselves, lasts and allows us a new dimension. Sustainability and respect for the planet and for all living things, is the only way forward, from our point of view.
This “pause” has slowed us down, leading us to put the rush aside, reduce stress, relax and look within. We have observed and listened to each other, we have connected more with ourselves and we have paid attention to who we are, where we are, what we want… We have been faced with an opportunity to assess whether what we have matches what we want. A moment of introspection, of big questions. Is what I have what I want? Is this the life I want to live? And what relationship do I have with myself?
It has been a time of internal work, of listening, of giving ourselves what we needed. The world stops and we do too. Where do you run? Where do you want to go? We don’t have to go anywhere. In these times, more than ever, we must stop and redirect ourselves. Personal care, resetting ourselves inside and out, feeling good, physical and emotional harmony through healthy routines and habits … That which makes us feel good, which allows us to take care of ourselves, has been very important during this time, to pamper ourselves, connect, feel rooted and respect the planet at the same time. Our choices, in every way, are more conscious and respectful.
Our way of consuming has also changed. We have returned to the primary and essential and that has made us more minimalist and, very favourably, caused simpler lifestyles. Today we make most of our purchases online to avoid going out and exposing ourselves to risks and we ask ourselves, will our shopping habits remain like this from now on? More digital to avoid crowds?
We observe changes in entertainment, how we occupy our free time. We have learned to entertain ourselves with less, to return to things that we had not done for years, to the manual, to the artisan, to the homemade and we launched new things that we wanted to do long ago. We use our hands and this connects us with ourselves and with the present moment, mindfully.
Work has been redefined. Working from home, with video calls and instant messaging are now part of the ´new normal´ and you can sense new ways of working, new relationships and new possibilities for remote working in the immediate future. Companies that did not believe in this type of work, today see it as an opportunity that benefits both parties, businessman and worker.
Changes in relationships and ways of communicating. We cannot see each other in person, we cannot touch but we choose to communicate in the available ways with the people we want. Change the way and change the with whom, consciously choosing who is truly important to us.
The pandemic has allowed us to reach a moment of self-reflection. To revise our daily choices and adapt them to what we really feel. What are our values? Are we living according to them?
The vast majority of us have changed and don’t want to go back to old patterns. We want to do things differently. We value life, relationships, well-being more even more. We are highly resilient. We are able to adapt and overcome adversities.
Today we choose more.
What do you think? How do you think the ´new normal´will look like?
