Dealing with Grief in the Coronavirus Pandemic

Suitable for upper-intermediate CEFR B2+

2020 has been a year dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. 

There has been unprecedented disruption to life as we know it and I've personally struggled with maintaining a healthy routine during the 3 months national lockdown in the UK, during which I lost a family member that has been a hugely important part of my life. Grief is hard to deal with at any time, but not having the opportunity to support this person in their final moments because of restrictions imposed for the pandemic, was especially difficult to swallow. 

I am not ashamed to admit that I lost my way after that. I didn't know what to do or how to live anymore in this strange new world. I doubted if it was a world worth living in at all. But as the days of social isolation stretched on, I began to find beauty and solace in observing all the little comings and goings of the season through the kitchen window. 

As March ticked slowly away, the soft pink blossoms on the cherry tree faded and bright orange flowers opened at the bottom of the garden. In April, I noticed the colours on all the little garden birds that I might previously have missed going about my usual schedule. In May the hot weather brought out bluebells in the forest that I could enjoy on a long evening walk with the dog and I began to feel connected with nature in a way that I hadn't experienced for a very long time. 

I will never forget the sky looking clearer and bluer than ever at a time when pollution levels were the lowest they had ever been during my lifetime. I will never forget waking to a melodious cacophony of birdsong in the almost total absence of air traffic and motorway noise. I will never forget the glorious and profound silence. In times of darkness these memories will exist to remind me that there is such astounding beauty and hope in the presence of nature, if you only stop and notice. 

I'd like to dedicate this post not only to all the keyworkers that have supported efforts to fight the pandemic and keep people safe, but to everyone across the world that has lost someone close to them during the pandemic. My heart goes out to you all. 

The Joy of Being

Now is the timeless space in which everything in the universe is happening simultaneously. By becoming aware of the space of now, you suddenly feel more alive inside.

                                                                                                                       - Eckhart Tolle

Words and Phrases to Remember

impose, to deal with, difficult to swallow, grief, solace, simultaneously, astounding, to bring out, keyworkers

Look these words up in a translator and an English dictionary and record the meaning. 

Activity

See if you can answer TRUE or FALSE to these questions about the text

1. Life has changed because of the pandemic. T/F

2. Grief is a feeling of sadness felt after somebody dies. T/F

3. The writer was with the person when they died. T/F

4. The writer felt sadness when looking out of the window. T/F

5. The writer has many happy memories of social isolation during the quarantine. T/F

Write your answers in the comments!