When everything around us felt like it was falling apart because of COVID-19, something unexpected happened. We got a chance to slow down and really think about who we are. It's strange how difficult times can sometimes help us see things more clearly.
Before the pandemic, our lives were busy and noisy. We were always running from one thing to another, without much time to think about ourselves. But when the pandemic hit, everything stopped, and we fould ourselves alone with our thoughs. It was scary, we didn't know what to do with ourselves without all the distractions and amenities. We were worried about what was happening, having lost the freedom to travel, to see people, and for some, also to leave the house! We were seeing people dying.
But as time passed, some of us embraced the opportunity to slow down, to introspect, and to cultivate a deeper understanding of who we are and what truly matters to us. We picked up old hobbies, remembered things we used to love, and got to know ourselves better. Even though the world was in chaos, we could not do much, locked in our apartments with nowhere to go and no one to see. We learned to appreciate the little things, like a warm cup of tea or a nice book to read. We started to bake, sing, knit and dive into all those activities we “never had time to explore”.
And me, as many others, I have lost my job. I only moved to Iceland a year before, so I started to be scared and lost. I realized I was miles and miles apart from my family in Italy and there was not much I could have done about that.
I have been lucky enough to have my partner with me and to receive the unemployment benefit to survive with basic standards, so in order not to lose my mind, I decided to make the most out of my time learning something new, and finally putting my hands on this one project I had in the drawer for months: creating a brand that would finally allow me to sell my own design.
I came back to studying on-line, and learnt from scratch how to get through the process of creating seamless patterns, setting up online stores, sharing my new creations on social media and a million of other things.
I didn’t know what I was doing at the time, but I can say today I made a priceless investment!
This project became a place to channel my creativity through my love for Iceland and an opportunity to get the best out of a bad situation.
I have also participated to the creativity of others, taking part of videoclips made without meeting anybody, with the power of home recording and remote collaborations, leaving a special memory of those crazy times with no live concerts and gatherings of any kind.
Here’s COASTLINE from Myrkvi and NEL MODO GIUSTO from my old friend Alberto Bassani
Like everybody knows now, the word "危机" (wēijī) in Chinese means "crisis." It combines the characters "危" (wēi), which means danger or risk, and "机" (jī), which means opportunity or chance. So, the take-away is that a crisis presents both risks and opportunities. And it’s good to see both, but it is also important to take courage and focus on the second, so we can look ahead on something creative, positive that pushes us towards what comes ahead.
I am so glad I did!