疫情下的相逢 Connecting through the Pandemic
久別重逢，大家好嗎？潤物於2021年踏入新嘅里程碑，因為有香港大學跨學科知識交流計劃嘅支持，我地聘請咗兩位學生研究助理。今日，我地就住疫情有少少分享，希望可以係瞬息萬變嘅世界入面，等大家感到有啲支持，有啲定嘅感覺。
本文作者Florence Lo係香港大學嘅學生。
It has been a long time since we last met each other. How are you doing? As 2021 arrives, Mender of Things has reached a new milestone. We have hired two student research assistants with the support of the Multidisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Programme offered by The University of Hong Kong. Today, we will share some of our reflection towards COVID-19. We hope it will give you some support and stability in this ever-changing world.
The author of this article, Florence Lo, is a student of The University of Hong Kong.
Love in the time of COVID
It’s been almost a year since COVID-19 became a major part of our lives here in Hong Kong. To some of us, the virus has prompted us to do little more than wear a mask. Yet, for many others who are less privileged, this is a period in which they have suffered greatly or experienced the loss of a loved one. To truly put a stop to the pandemic and recover from it, empathy can be a starting point from which to think about our health, grief and loss, and our relationship with our communities.
In difficult times such as now, it is easy to blame others for the suffering we have gone through. With new cases of COVID-19 surfacing daily, we might feel angry when we see people walking around without a face mask or drinking at a bar, especially when we ourselves have been nothing but responsible in combating the pandemic. Which is completely valid and justified! However, even when we think someone else is completely wrong, our first step should not be to condemn and berate, but to try to understand their thoughts. If what they are doing is blatantly incorrect to them, why would they keep doing it? Perhaps prolonged isolation has led some to become depressed, or perhaps the gravity of the situation has never truly sunk in for them. The most crucial thing to understand is that judging, humiliating, or attacking others for something they have done is not conducive to mutual understanding. In fact, it may even lead them to reject conversation, which is counterintuitive to making others understand your own point of view.
To process the myriad of emotions we feel, especially when most of us are physically and emotionally isolated, and to understand each other, art can be a good place to start. The Double Rainbows Exhibit in Philadelphia, for example, invites children to reflect on their experiences and relationship with COVID-19 through making a rainbow to be displayed online. The rainbows, which will be mailed to families who have lost their loved ones to COVID-19 after the exhibition, is meant to be a symbol of healing, positivity, and strength, and a reminder that there are people in your community who care about you and what you have been through. As a nonverbal form of communication, art helps people connect on a deeper level and process conflicting emotions that may be difficult to articulate.
If you have been feeling down because of the pandemic, try to have a conversation with yourself by doodling, singing a song, or perhaps writing a story. You may be surprised to find patterns in your thinking that you can learn to break through. If you want, you can even do this with a friend! Remember to be kind both to yourself and others, especially when it is all the more difficult to do so. Stay warm and stay safe!
