Living Covid
Being present in the age of a pandemic
The year is 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic is at its peak. Well, at the time of writing, the pandemic is at its second peak, to be precise. It is undeniable that it is a very difficult experience for all of us, for all of humanity.
To cope with the difficulty, I get inspiration from mindfulness. The core concept of mindfulness is that of being present — we must always be present. What does being present mean? To me, being present means being fully aware of what we are doing in the moment, however simple. Not looking into the future or the past, but being right here, being right now. Washing dishes? Yes, I am aware. Reading a book? Yes, I am aware. Eating dinner? Yes, I am aware.
But awareness goes beyond simple actions, and into emotions as well. For one’s sanity, it is important to be aware of our emotions. In fact, this is where the practice of mindfulness becomes difficult, because some emotions are difficult to comprehend, let alone to face. Nevertheless, the practice of mindfulness demands that we must observe the emotion rather than react to it. We must look at it, sit with it, and finally let it pass by. Only by truly being present can we truly accept and move on.
Why am I talking about mindfulness? Well, at an individual level, I cope with the pandemic by being mindful and I believe society as a whole should also be mindful. It is a difficult time for everyone and we all want it gone, no doubt about that, but however difficult it is we must observe it. We must live it. We must accept this strange new state of being.
This project, Living Covid, is about photographically documenting life in the city during the pandemic. The restrictions. The long waiting lines. The masks. The arts struggling to survive. All of it. It is my attempt at observing the pandemic. My attempt at being present in the moment and living my era. I do it mostly for myself, so that in the future, I will look back and remember. I will talk to young generations and will be proud to say: “I remember, I lived it, I was there”.
In talking about the fact that to become good at something the first step is to begin, a good friend was reflecting on the need to embrace imperfection. He concisely expressed his thought in this sentence: “If it is worth doing well, it is worth doing badly” [Farzad, F]. I like that. So, here it is. Here is my project worth doing badly.
