A real letter from a real poet can help you get over the isolation blues | Opinion
We can try to forget about the thing that happened, but no amount of jokes about sweatpants will do the trick. There is no magic antidote that will allow the thing to escape our collective memories.
Everyone will remember March 2020 for years to come as the start of the end. Accordingly, so many of us have felt more that just sad, and more time will pass before we’re able to fall back into the routine of living a single day at a time, as opposed to feeling like everything is always happening simultaneously. There will be psychological terms and sociological theories that attempt to explain what we have lived through in the past year: us, the COVID generation. So many of us have identified a need for hobbies, of new ways to let our loved ones know we care, different habits to keep us healthy and busy throughout the thing. For example, I, Liliana, have personally turned my apartment into a tiny rainforest with a new houseplant obsession, much to the chagrin of my husband. But taking care of living things and helping them thrive has reinforced my conscientiousness and connection with other beings.
And I, Julia, have bolstered my journaling habits and bloomed emotionally, physically and spiritually, reinforcing my connection with myself during these times of turmoil.
Together, we have realized how much mental ease analog activities can provide during times of global mental distress. And it was in this “back-to-basics” state of mind that both of us started talking about the benefits of non-digital communication as a means of survival during times of environmental crises, worldwide contagion and “social-distancing” measures. The reality is this mandate calls for self-isolation. And there’s nothing social about having to remain indoors for more than a year.
This virus has spawned another pandemic across the globe: mental distress.
Our project, a collaboration with O, Miami Poetry Festival, aims to help that recovery process.
“Add Attachment” is an international letter exchange connecting different cultures and languages throughout the American continent, helping ease confinement blues for South Floridians.
This is how it works: Any South Florida resident feeling affected by the emotional and physical isolation they’ve endured during the pandemic can apply to receive a care letter from a poet. We have recruited dozens of poets across the continent to use their writing skills as a caretaking technique for South Florida letter recipients.
O, Miami volunteers will transcribe these final texts originally written in Spanish and French, by hand, and mail them out, providing participants with a handwritten letter by a poet.
Let us share this letter from poet Sarah Safaie from Los Angeles, California:
Dear fellow human,
It’s hard to remember the last time I meaningfully interacted with a stranger in person. It feels as if the masks have served as a kind of shield over the past year; certain facial expressions that might have otherwise lent themselves to prolonged interactions were hidden from view.
Something I’ve learned from this pandemic is how much I really value slowing down and returning to older and more sustainable ways of life; this includes incorporating meaningful personal interactions on a daily basis. Allowing the wheat to separate from the chaff and remembering, as simple as it may be, that quantity does not equal quality has opened up my world. My intention is to be more present and attentive for each human interaction, even if they occur while executing regular tasks like handling a phone call or checking out at the grocery store.
There has been so much widespread suffering over the past year, and it is my hope that the silver lining through all of this might be a deeper universal capacity for empathy. Rather than continuing to execute mundane day-to-day tasks that fuel the capitalist war machine, we can stop and reflect on the real purpose behind our actions, and through that reflection take substantial measures to change them. It will take time but I have faith in humanity and every step and interaction along the way counts.
with light,
Sarah
Why not take part of this letter exchange, transmuting the isolation blues into literal art? Sign up by 11:59 p.m. April 24 at omiami.org/submit to receive a letter written by a poet. Let us connect you with a writer from another part of the United States, the Caribbean or South America — without leaving your home.
Liliana Ortega Camareno and Julia Taveras are the creators of “Add Attachment,” an international letter exchange connecting different cultures and languages throughout the American continent.
