Quarantine and Conversation

Angie Delgado

I moved into my grandma’s old room when I came back from college. She is currently in Ecuador and cannot fly back due to the pandemic. Her room sits right outside of my living room where my mom spends most of her day on Zoom and Skype calls with family, friends, and friends of friends preaching and conducting bible studies. Everyday, I hear her warm words, filled with wisdom and empathy, consoling and teaching. They are familiar to me because they are the same ones she spoke to me while I was growing up. Even the bible texts she quotes spark a sense of nostalgia within me. Lately, her words have taken on a more urgent tone. The current global crisis and its devastating effects on nations, economies, and individuals have signified the beginning of a long awaited event: armageddon. But this event, she says, only signifies a nearing future in which Earth will transform into paradise and peace and harmony will reign among humans and nature. The catastrophes and pain that we see today will be no longer.

My beliefs and values are not the same as my mother’s. I had always been on the receiving line of her teachings and to now be on the outside was strange. In this time at home, I have finally been able to have thorough conversations with her about faith and religion and how these relate to the current pandemic. This has been the silver lining of quarantine: a deeper awareness of the importance of conversation and understanding. Amid all the conflict, protests, hate, desolation, and death we are seeing today, I have found comfort in building this bridge with my mother, one that I had initially torn down out of fear and confusion. This has reminded me of one of the foundations of progress – to question and to doubt but also to listen and to engage in dialogue. In times of crisis, such as this one, we only have one another and cooperation is vital. Cooperation entails empathy and openness and recognition of the value of everyone’s life and perspectives.