Hey you,
Think about that for a bit, while I get started with a lirru facts:
Fact: About 84,000 people have recovered from Ms Rona.
Fact: Bees sometimes sting other bees.
Fact: Italy used to be (not sure of now) top healthiest places in the world.
You didn’t know these? Okrr.
This week, I spent a lot of my time thinking about what it means to be a good person. And what it means to do good deeds. There's a story here, but I'll have to tell it when I'm 50. Some part of this train of thoughts was spurred by Ms Rona-induced-panic. In the middle of it, I realised that this period — outside of everything it means to our health (systems) — is a real test of the goodness of human beings, the kindness of strangers, of how we love.
To be more practical, loving in the context of the world right now means controlling panic or fear. Panic spreads like wildfire, starting with the people closest to you — the people you love. The more you keep asking someone to stock up (as an example, not even remotely a real life situation), the more anxious they become. The more you share even the slightest update about Ms Rona with people, the more they panic. Not panicking as a way to show love is also doing the right thing: staying home when you feel unwell — not because you can't manage yourself — but because to manage yourself means you're causing B, C, D to panic and you’re causing them harm.
Understand that panic is normal and human. I control my panic by being rooted in the word. By spending less time on social media and if I have to be on social media, I'm not actively searching for Ms Rona updates. It's spreading positive vibes: recommending books and stories for people to read, curating funny content that I can share with friends (not gory bad news all the time), sharing positive news, checking up on friends — and this last part is important. (The ABC of practical I-love-yous - pro tip).
What does not going out (even to work) mean for the average young Nigerian?
It means getting creative on Tiktok if you're younger than 20. If you're in your 20s, it's a lot of worrying about your parents/older relatives and friends. It's working in an environment you hardly work in even though you live there. It's a drastic change of routine. You're not hanging out on Friday nights, you're not owambe-ing on Saturdays and you're also most likely not brunching on Sundays. It's a lot of things to different people. It's varying degrees of loneliness.
Pro tip: My friends and I are staying connected over group chats, pre-planned phone conversations, sending the metaphorical love and light encouragement. You should do this too. Set up virtual dates, allocate time to laugh and be silly.
I'm keeping this letter short because everyone keeps talking to you about Ms Rona — information overload it's called. The dos and dont's of times like this. You're possibly consuming way too much on a regular basis. One thing you shouldn't do though — don't argue with anyone about Ms Rona. It's not even worth it.
By the time you get this, I’ll be watching Jane the Virgin to keep my mood in check. (By God I hate Jane.) I'm still reading House of Stones by Novuyo Tshuma. Someone needs to save my reading life; it just might be this season. We wait and see.