Fewer but better
(Pandemic Diary - day 96)
From my journal: 2 June 2020 (Tuesday)
I know the pandemic is bad, and I don’t wish it to continue. I know it’s killing people and ruining lives.
But…
I also know this feeling of liberation it has brought me is undeniable — I’m loving the isolation and the freedom that comes from having no outside obligations or commitments, nothing on my calendar, no places to go or people to see. What I really want is to be able to keep acting like this, while others are safe to go on with their lives.
But…
I also love people, and I love all those interactions that are gone right now. How can we have both? Maybe the answer is to work towards fewer, but better interactions, to focus on quality over quantity.
In that spirit, here’s my starter list of principles towards that idea of…
Fewer but Better:
Longer is better than shorter.
Big talk is better than small talk.
Smaller groups are better than larger groups.
Focus (because multi-tasking diminishes quality).
Listening is better than speaking (and sometimes silence is best of all).
Etc. (there must be more of these principles).
And some additions for the introverts in the group (we’re different, and you may not understand us, so here are some things you should know)…
Introvert Caveats:
It’s not you, it’s me.
I mainly want to be left alone, most of the time.
I still love you, even if I don’t want to be with you all the time.
Don’t take it personally or be offended or discouraged when I say “No, but thanks for asking”.
(I truly mean the “thanks for asking” part, and I hope you’ll ask again.)