What else can we do but write?

Tourists, go home.

Sing, it should be. But writing must do it for now. The world suddenly stopped turning. How many times did I want it to stop and it didn’t? That time I was 16 years old and in love? Or that day I was sitting on a mountain top on the Lofoten Islands looking out over the Atlantic Ocean? And it didn’t stop. The world kept on turning, life went on. Without even asking me.

And now? It all stopped. Yes, time goes on. But it doesn’t. Shops are closed, planes don’t fly, workers have no work. It all is insecure and scary. Maybe so scary that we soon will wake from a bad dream? Or is it reality? People don’t dare to shake each other’s hands anymore. They keep a distance. Social distancing, they call it. What is social about a distance? People meet online, but still are apart. It is surreal. Solidarity they call it. Care for each other.

Not going anywhere, really.

Out here in the lonesome mountains of Mid-Norway, life just goes as normal. The huskies in the dogyard are waiting for food and a sled trip. The labrador in the house wants to go for a ski trip to get rid of his energy. No people nowhere. Just as usual. But the distance is here. The neighbour stopping by doesn’t dare to step onto the doorstep. He waves from the driveway. We try to ski at different times. But yet, the sheep want their hay, the goats have to be milked.

Wild, beautiful, big, empty.

So, what is different then? That virus keeps us at home. It keeps us in quarantine, working from home, just interacting through modern technology. People are scared, what about my job? How to pay the bills? Where did our freedom go?

We don't want tourists in our country anymore. Ask them to return home. But where is home in times like this? And how to get there? Airports are closing, airlines are facing bankruptcy. Closed borders in a normally free Europe.

Writing is, what keeps me strong. What gives me hope. Get an outlet for the thoughts in my head. Sorting what is just chaos. Trying to find the silverline on the horizon. Not believing the worst scenarios. Not giving up.

People in the cities tell us they can't stay a whole day home alone. They need to go to the park. Allowed or not. My park is nature. Big, beautiful, empty Norwegian wilderness. I am lucky these days. And even luckier if I still have a job after the crisis.

Hope on the horizon?