ABSTRACT
Being isolated gives us time to think, which can be a blessing or not. In our time-starved lives, we do not often get the kind of free time isolation forces on us. Shakespeare saw it as an opportunity. He wrote King Lear when he was quarantined during the Great Plague. Gwyneth Paltrow urges us to write a book, teach ourselves to code online and learn a language. Rhi Wilmot (2020) of Bangor University argues lockdown can be an opening up as it “offers us time and space for introspection, and a chance to build greater self-awareness than ever before”. Wilmot is an optimist and says, “perhaps the present uncertainty will give rise to new forms of meaning. When we emerge from the chrysalis of lock-down, this resource will help us greet the world with purpose”. But that will only happen if we keep our minds active in the pandemic.
