How to Ride the Pandemic: Why the Arts Might Save You
You might be wondering right now, when is the pandemic going to end?
Well, that’s a good question, but the answer is unfortunately uncertain from a world perspective.
If
you look around, it’s quite a disturbing reality check for people to
face, accept and deal with the pounding reality which is constantly
being bombarded upon one each day in every direction that things aren’t
the way that they used to be.
As
you try to face yourself, your immediate environment and the world at
large in the daily grind of living through this pandemic, it can be
totally overwhelming, extremely exhausting and utterly disheartening at
times.
You
could be seeing yourself in the position where life is just unreal and
hard to accept no matter what you try sometimes. There is a chance that
you might find yourself spending countless hours at home for many days
on end, endlessly thinking on how you’re going to deal with every aspect
of your life.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably experiencing some major side effects from this evolving pandemic:
Habitual and Extended Isolation
Since
the initial outbreak and rapid spread of the Coronavirus a few years
back, it has resulted in an international health crisis.
You could say that this crisis has brought an “Isolation Era” for individuals, families, social groups and humanity itself.
As
an individual you might be facing the ripple effects of COVID-19 in a
greater or lesser degree where health is a daily concern, isolation is
more of a way of life and traditional social needs that contribute to
your health and comfort are increasingly deprived of you as each day
progresses.
The
family structure that supports our very societies and the world at
large has already been struggling throughout many decades, but this
global crisis hasn’t made it any easier. You’ll find traditional
familial values and close-knit interactions degenerating to new lows due
to isolation.
Our
social groups and centers that fuel our social life whether we are
talking about clubs, libraries, guilds, unions, museums, organizations,
public gatherings and you name it at a local, national or international
level almost came to an utter halt at various times in the daily lives
of people during this epidemic.
Isolation
has been very hard for many people because individuals and groups
naturally tends to attract to one another for bonding, comfort, safety,
inspiration, hope, security, development and much more, but public
health comes first.
This
global health crisis has brought the world together in many ways to
fight a common threat. It has connected us more than ever, but in the
same flip of a coin, we have become less connected in other respects.
As
humanity plunges into this new Isolation Era, the future seems
uncertain at various levels as a result of the fluctuating spread of the
Coronavirus, Omicron and their resulting variants, but the future still
seems hopeful for many.
Mild to Severe Depression
The
subject of stress and depression is definitely not uncommon to man, but
its presence, influence, and severity upon an individual has become
that much greater in modern times since the rise of this health crisis.
Stress
itself is usually a gradual or rapid negative mental experience that
eventually develops into the greater monster known as “depression”
unless it’s caught and addressed at earlier stages.
The
degree of negative influence upon individuals could be determined to an
extent by their inherent or educated ability of coping with daily
stress. Each person is different in how they view, experience, and deals
with it. It could come from health issues or emotional triggers stirred
up by one’s surrounding environment, or fears chewing one’s thoughts
from impending future situations.
This
evolving pandemic has simply compounded the overall situation, where
stress and depression has become more severe. For some, it has brought
them down to lower levels of apathy. It’s not just lower emotionally and
mentally, but it’s being prolonged for extended periods of time that
could be considered unhealthy for any individual to remain in such a
state without eventually facing detrimental repercussions.
These
negative consequences could spill into other areas of one’s life for
example family, friends, social activities and even work itself, where
you might find yourself not caring anymore.
It’s
an ominous cloud that continues to linger in one's life and keeps
getting darker, and you don’t know what kind of elements you’re going to
be getting from this health climate. It’s only going to get better or
worse. So, it’s a broad matter that needs to be resolved.
Joblessness or Impending Unemployment
This
world is facing an unprecedented situation where the safety of one’s
job is in constant danger as the pandemic continuous. You could totally
be fine one day, but then finding yourself out of work the following
day. Then, if you find yourself unemployed, it could be hard to get back
on the workforce.
There
are quite a few people out there who actually do have jobs. But they
can’t show up to work because their businesses or institutions are not
reopening their doors to the public to help stop the spread of the
pandemic by following local and federal guidelines.
This
is not even factoring in the fact of how unprofitable it can be for
certain types of businesses and organizations, especially start-ups, to
try to stay opened during this hectic times. They are trying to keep
their businesses afloat somehow in this epidemic. It’s challenging their
ability to provide goods and services to their local communities while
keeping enough employees to do the work satisfactorily.
You
have large companies that have been around for a very long time, but
are currently limping to stay alive as an organization. Some of these
establishments are large pillars in a society that have been supporting
many towns and cities with continuous, stable jobs. It has gotten so bad
at times that many companies had to lay off many of their employees
because they can’t afford to keep them around with the current scene.
It’s
quite disheartening when a business have to close their doors overnight
by firing all their employees since their losses are too great to bear
and declaring bankruptcy seems like the only way out.
Then,
you have a sudden surge of people heading back home without work to
support themselves and their loved ones. They are experiencing later on
greater troubles in finding and starting a new job when many businesses
are staying closed or hiring is very limited based on the area.
The
world economy is trying to reinvent itself to some degree, so it can
successfully cope with the pandemic and allowing commerce to continue.
Why the Arts Might Save You
As
you experience isolation, depression and possibly finding yourself
being out of work, you might be wondering how on earth I’m going to pull
through this modern “Dark Ages”.
If
one looks at early history, the exact elements that sparked rebirth and
new life for many civilizations that were decaying at various times by
different types of dark ages that were occurring around the world. It
was always through the arts that lead to a new renaissance. That
renaissance could be brought in you.
Isolation,
depression, sadness, fear, anger or any kind of negative energy that
you might be experiencing in your life can be channeled, transformed and
turned into creative thought. You can place those intangible feelings,
ideas, and thoughts that are inside your mind into actual artistic
reality. It can be quite therapeutic.
You
should start getting involved in the arts if you haven’t before, or get
yourself back in the groove of doing so if you found yourself stopped
by any reason. Or if you’re an artist creating some art, but you don’t
feel satisfied enough, you should go ahead and produce a lot more or add
new elements of art to your life.
So,
ask yourself, how many aesthetic elements do you need to create or add
to your personal life to start a renaissance in yourself?
Artistic Ways to Ride the Pandemic
If
you’re finding yourself at home most of the time feeling bored,
anxious, frustrated, unsatisfied or just some aspect of life is lacking
in yourself and the arts aren’t part of your daily life, this might be
the best news you’ve ever heard.
That’s
right, you are an ARTIST with much potential and skill. Some skills are
natural, you’re born with them, and other skills you learn through much
practice until it looks and feels natural. You might have a natural
talent for something, but you might not be aware of it at the moment, or
simply you have an untapped passion for an artistic element that only
needs your mastery of the skill.
The
arts could help you complement your ride and life through the pandemic.
It could even make the feeling of time “disappear”.
It
has often been experienced that time seems to stop when one find
themselves involved in something that they truly enjoy or feel
passionate about.
The
arts are quite an embracing field in themselves when it comes to
creating and dealing with aesthetics. Explored them to see what
resonates with you, but the best two ways to start in the arts are the
following:
#1 Painting
This
is the art of using artist paint on a picture as decoration. The most
popular mediums used for painting are oil, acrylics, and watercolors.
These are usually applied on a canvas surface with various types of
brushes.
Oil
paint is quite awesome due to its rich quality that it produces in
comparison with other mediums. The only drawback you might run into in
using oil is the fact that it can take a long time before the paint
fully dries, and you can start working on it again. It can take several
hours or even until the next day based on how thick your coats of paint
are.
Acrylic
paint on the other hand is great because of its flexibility. It dries
pretty fast while still producing a nice final finish. If for some
reason you need to go back and change details on your picture, well,
this paint can be forgiving. Once you’re fully done with your painting,
you have an option of applying a final coat of vanish to give it a
glossy look.
Watercolor
paint is unique in quality than the above two mediums. It’s made with a
water-soluble cohesive substance such as gum arabic, and thinned with
water rather than oil, giving a transparent color. It’s good for
producing abstract or real life paintings with a softer look, which
dries rather fast. Instead of using a canvas surface for oil and acrylic
paint, you use paper material for watercolors.
Painting
is a vivid way to release your thoughts, fears, stress, or even your
great ideas into a realistic form. You can do it for self-satisfaction,
decorating your home or as a gift to a family member or friend or put it
up for sale for any admirers.
#2 Drawing
It’s
a picture made with a pencil, pen, or pastel rather than paint. The
method that you use for drawing comes down to preference. They are all
fun to use, but each one have their own pros and cons. It’s usual for
someone to sketch many ideas on paper before they produce their final
drawing. It can be a monochrome drawing with black and white or in
varying tones of one color or multicolor.
Pencils
are another flexible and excellent way of creating art at your own pace
and convenience anywhere you go. You can use thin or thick paper for
your drawings. Usually, thin paper is for sketching and thick paper is
for drawing. If you make any mistakes, you can always go back and erase
them.
Pens
are usually a more colorful and distinct style of drawing. It’s extra
expressive and bolder than using a pencil, but it’s not flexible where
you can go back and erase any mistakes. If you are naturally attracted
to decorative handwriting, such as in calligraphy, pens might be ideal
for you.
Pastels
are another special method of drawing. They are crayons made of
powdered pigments bound with gum or resin. It provides a much higher
quality drawing than just using a pencil or pen. It can even slightly
resemble an actual painting based on the type of pastels you use. The
kind of paper used for pastels has a unique, rough texture to it.
Aside
from mostly creating aesthetic drawings for pleasure or placing one’s
ideas on paper, it’s also an indirect way of channeling one’s
frustrations or pestering thoughts out of your head. Just keep drawing
until it starts to desensitize any possible negative feels or thoughts
over you.
Ride the Pandemic Through the Arts
The
arts can be quite therapeutic for one’s cognitive health in tackling
the effects of isolation, depression, and joblessness. They are artistic
tools you can use. All you have to do is create, create and endlessly
create, but most importantly just START.
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