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It’s beautiful outside and the warmth of the sun and the wind has blown those cold and cloudy days away. I am waiting, excited for the promised thunderstorms to come. I love thunder, the air like my mind always seems clearer and fresher afterwards.

As we move into a new chapter of lockdown, I am feeling confused by all the changes.  My befrienders are eager to meet up and enjoy the warmer weather.  I have been busy making hand creams and soaps and am desperate to give them to my volunteers.  Over lockdown we have been swapping recipes, supporting each other through the tough times and speaking our stories.  It is as though the barriers we didn’t know we had, are coming down.  My neighbours, friends and befrienders feel somehow closer to me, more connected, more human.  I realise how precious people are, more so now that isolation is being relaxed.  I see the vulnerabilities in the world, and the protests following the death of George Floyd have given me hope that we will emerge a more conscious people, in a better, kinder world.

Soraya and Liz have been here for me throughout the last few months.  I feel more supported than I have in a long time.  My sister surprised me by turning up for a doorstep visit.  Another friend passed by and we had a conversation while she was in the car park and I was on my balcony three floors up.  She sang and danced and I felt happy, in love with the world again.  Lots of things have happened recently that I would have found strange or embarrassing a few months ago.  It is so heart-warming to see family members coming to our development to have social distance meet ups with their relatives living here.  We are united in our yearning for our loved ones.  Everything which was once strange is no longer.  The old normality is now unusual.

I decided to give befriending a go myself.  I realised from posts on social media that many, many people are struggling with loneliness isolation.  Together Co. were quick to get back to me, having passed their screening profile.  I was very excited to be matched up with two befriendees. We chat on the phone for ten-ish minutes twice a week.  I love feeling like I’m making a difference to others.  I love talking and hearing about my new friend’s lives, always happy to offer a listening ear and help people feel comforted.   

There is a new world emerging and I hope there will be a place for everyone in it, that we will all feel more compassion for those who were left behind in the old world.