I'm leaning into this isolation situation, and you need permission to do so as well.

COVID-19 has thrust teachers and students into uncharted territory for the foreseeable future.  We are in a holding pattern that is unfamiliar and the end seems to be further away than it was yesterday.  New phrases like social distancing and distance learning have now become ubiquitous in our daily lives.  Nevertheless, teachers are confronting this situation with creative solutions and opportunities.  I'm inspired when I see many of my colleagues creating virtual ensembles, posting daily challenges on social media, creating YouTube channels, and scheduling Zoom conferences.  I deeply understand the desire to keep the same routines in an effort to preserve normalcy.  Staying connected to our colleagues, students, and teachers is important, but I'm more interested in finally connecting with someone which I don't often get the chance: myself.

Social distancing has led to a social pressure to still be connected with everyone in some virtual fashion.  While at times it is comforting, sometimes I just want to log off and not worry about being social through a screen anymore (This is literally how I feel in normal times anyway...lol).  Can we acknowledge that there can be a balance?  Can we not let distance learning take precedence over self-learning?

I want to take the opportunities this crisis presents as a chance to finally disconnect, and for me disconnecting means finally connecting with myself.  One of my favorite meditation podcasts, Audio Dharma, recently posted an excellent episode titled "Shelter in Place as a Retreat," and it helped frame many of my thoughts and observations about human behavior right now.  Check it out in the video.  Even in times like this, we keep ourselves needlessly busy with work because have wired ourselves to be producing at all times.  But what if we truly took this time to live calmly and in service to ourselves for once?

Our "spare time" is the new "all the time."  I've been using my time to finally compose again, and it has brought me joy.  It is a deeply personal passion, but it in normal life it's easy to relegate our passions in between work and responsibility.  Now that we have time, why can't we free ourselves to think inwardly and not feel selfish doing it? I too find joy in connecting with others, but this moment presents differently to me.  If you find joy in creating daily content for distance learning or just face-timing with friends and family, you are awesome and you should keep doing it.  I know that I will still be there for my students when they ask to have a private Zoom lesson or feedback on a composition, but I will also not worry if I need to focus on myself in that moment instead.  Whatever is best for your mental sanity is extremely important, as there is a very real possibility that many of us will get sick, take care of somebody who is sick, or know somebody who is.  Give yourself permission to take a retreat in whatever way you see fit and please give your students that same permission.

Wash your hands.