dist a n c e
With social distancing enforced an older idea of retreat emerges.
At a distance from our lives, we can look more creatively at ourselves.
Elsa, the fictional Queen of Arendelle from Disney’s Frozen, knows a thing or two about social isolation:
“It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all
It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through”
Let it go, Idina Menzel
Kin Navigation Space
Receptive: As a maker and yoga practitioner I appreciate the time I spend by myself and gain energy from space without others (my human and non-human friends). Yet, the new relationship to distance is perhaps the lack of choice – the absence of choice that is troublesome or trouble for some.
Interruptive: The lack of choice, this distance which derives from "a standing apart”, what is out-of-bounds and out of reach. The urge to focus on what I have in abundance, rather than what is scarce feels appealing. My world in 2020 usually involves the overwhelming options and choices – rarely do I choose the option that gives me most joy or pleasure, possibly choosing escapism and distraction a camouflage of joy.
Responsive: Taking an opportunity to pause and reflect on what matters, what gives meaning and stealing Idina Menzel’s lyrics “the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all”. From a distance we might be able to see the raw details of living a life that makes more sense if I can appreciate what I have and not what is out of reach.