The Hidden Joys of One-month Quarantine

As we slowly adapt to a life confined within the four walls of our apartments, we struggle to reconcile just how much our reality has changed in a bit more than a month.

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Travod have been among those fortunate enough who were able to self-quarantine, work from home, and have the time and possibility to observe and reflect on what has been going on over the past several weeks.

What can we learn at times such as these? How can we transform an incident like this pandemic into an opportunity for ourselves and others? Is it possible to embrace the inevitable challenges and life-threatening difficulties of human existence only to emerge wiser, more loving, and more alive? These are some of the questions that we have been asking ourselves.

Since we strongly believe that there is a spiritual purpose behind everything that is happening, we questioned some of our colleagues to reflect on their one-month self-isolation experience and share their learning points and positive discoveries.

Olga

During one-month quarantine, I've learned that I can still be me, even a better version of me – more patient, more caring, more supportive.

It makes me happy that there is no struggle in regard to public transportation, that I can watch more movies which are in my waiting list and that I can cook more often (it relaxes me).

I thank quarantine for cleaner air, less cars, less consumerism.

Liza

I noticed that many things in my life were taken for granted before the self-isolation. For example, I could have never imagined that I was privileged to have the freedom to go out and do whatever I wanted. Also, I started to appreciate more people around me, now I will cherish the time I spend with family, friends and co-workers even more.

Thanks to the quarantine, I talk more to the people I care about. I enjoy simple moments like drinking a cup of coffee in the morning or sitting on my balcony in the evening.

Cornelia

There is a couple of things I learned during self-isolation:

1. Family and friends are everything. I've always believed this, but I did not always act as if it’s true. I think that the quality of your life is the quality of your social connections.

2. Creativity – yours and that of others: it helps turn the ground from quicksand to a field of grass. The longer I am in lockdown, the more I turn to writing. This is a nice surprise.

3. Control what you can, let go of the rest. You can’t control how long this virus will last. You can, however, control your risk of exposure. You can’t control how you feel. However, you can control how you react to those feelings.

3 things I thank quarantine for:

1. More time. We can reflect more on the importance of every moment of our lives and try to find the light, even in the most difficult situations.

2. Thanks to the quarantine, we started to realize how fragile this world is. We always wish more while being blind to the treasure that is in front of us. It is still not too late to wake up and learn to appreciate the small joys life brings.

3. It is important to stay productive even when stuck in your house. Learn new skills and constantly expand your mind because this will add versatility to your life.

Eugen

It makes me happy that we are still employed and able to work from our homes.

This quarantine taught me that I can work remotely, but occasional face-to-face meetings are definitely required.

Cristina

I’m happy that I can spend more time with my family. When working hard, sometimes we end up neglecting our family, whereas it is the most important thing in our lives.

I thank quarantine for:

1. The time to spend with my family

2. The time to just stop and breath

3. Making me realize how lucky and blessed I am to have the job I have

Elena

I discovered that freedom and health are the most precious things. I reconfirmed to myself how much I love nature and how much I am currently missing it. That things should not be taken for granted, and we should value the time spent with our parents, relatives, friends, colleagues.

That any problem has a solution, and if you are constrained by certain circumstances, you find it much faster than you would normally do. That I love our office so much and I really miss the colleagues, the smiles, the energy.

I can’t deny there are still things that make my quarantine days brighter:

1.Sleeping till 8 AM :) 2. having the damned fridge next to me and abusing of it. 3. The fact that the extra time normally spent in traffic to and from work can be spent differently on some personal hobbies or simply communicating.

Oliver

My family is the main thing that makes me happy during this period, and there are few things I thank quarantine for:

·         offering the time to spend more time with my children

·         having time to exercise and spend time outdoors at the villa

·         having the chance to meet my barbeque and beer weekly quotas – as well as my sales, working on them 😎

Sorina

You're healthy until you're not, you are with the people that you love until you are not, you have a job that you enjoy until it no longer works out – this may seem as not a very positive thought, but it leads to another one: that happiness in life goes hand in hand with life’s fragility. Understanding this makes you more aware of and thankful for the present moment you are living in.

I also thank quarantine for 3 kilos gained! 😊

Anabel

Working with my cat on my lap, Netflix and chill with my cat, my cat – these are the few small things that make me happy during this period.

Also, I've learned to be more patient, more focused, and more appreciative of my job.

I am grateful for the opportunity to reconsider my values. I miss my friends and family and will appreciate the time spent with them more. I will also appreciate the chance to reconnect with nature – something we all took for granted until now.

Alina

I’ve learnt that we have to adapt, show solidarity to those in need, take control over our our body and a keep a healthy mind.

I’m grateful that I have scheduled a daily set of exercises for my body and the soul. Also, keeping up with my colleagues and our beautiful team, we're bounding.

Dorin

Finally, I have time to do what I missed to do due to procrastination.

Watching all those hot movies that came and went… and you somehow never got to watch. (Hello, “Marvel” and “DC” universes!)

Spending an immense amount of time on making some personal projects and then celebrating the fact that you learn something new.

Bluetooth headphones at max volume makes me happy. Not bothering my colleagues with that. 😄

Elena

I learnt to be patient, to slow-down, and to trust that it depends on others too. Not everything is in my own hands.

3 reasons for me to be happy these days:

1. Seeing the commitment, the understanding, the vigilance, the unity of your team is invaluable and rewarding during an unprecedented crisis like this one. This feeling will make any leader ask themselves, "What else can I give back?", "What else can I do to protect what we have?". It suddenly becomes even more precious and it gives a stronger sense of fighting an impossible mission and standing the ground against the crisis, because the true leaders know that they have living people at their backs.

2. Spending more time at home. I never had enough of it in the last 5 years.

3. Having time to FaceTime with my family abroad every day. We check on each other every day compared to once a week like we did in the past.

Mike

I have learned that I miss daily face-to-face communication with people.

I discovered that there are things to thank quarantine for:

I play the guitar again (I have not played it for around 2 years) ; I understand that we should value simple everyday things more as we cannot have/do any of them now; I started to rethink my plans for the future.

Anna

I’m happy to be able to spend more time with my husband and my cat. I get to exercise every day.

I’m grateful for having the opportunity to pause and reflect on my values.

I realized that we need to support small business owners in the food industry.

Oxana

Coffee, food, my job, my family, and my cat are the main things that make me happy.

I managed to learn new stuff during this month of isolation: the James Bond series has 25 movies since 1962. I learned the prices for coffee and water. Never knew them. Pretty expensive.

Andrei

Doing things that I haven't done in a long time makes me happy.

I am grateful for having enough time to exercise more. Also, I find this period to be an excellent opportunity to deal with inner self.

Stella

I discovered that social interaction is critically important.

I’m happy to see more companies figuring out ways to keep their staff employed and working remotely. Also, thanks to quarantine, we have less traffic and pollution.

Vicky

I have a few things to thank the quarantine for:

1. Building healthy habits (sport routine, healthy diet). Thanks to a diet course I take, I have learned a lot about healthy nutrition.

2. Making me realize that I have everything I need to be happy (good health, a loving husband, and a cozy home)

3. Uniting all humans in working towards the same goal

I understood how much I need the sun and nature in my life (and how much we should cherish it). I even learnt how to do TikToks to spread positive vibes online! 😊

We hope you will also find this period to be a perfect time to pause your busy routine, rest, reflect and connect with what’s really important, as well as show appreciation for abundance and life.