A Chance to Pause

Stop.

Take a deep breath.

Pause.

Just take a second. 

Press halt on reality.

Reset.

Start Over.

These are all phrases I use on near daily basis as I become overwhelmed by the screeching pace that life seems to hurtle along at. For years, I have longed for life to slow down, to give me a chance to catch up, a chance breath, a chance to start over.

And now it’s here, in the most unexpected of circumstances; what I longed for…my chance to pause.

On a daily basis we are all confronted with hundreds of different situations, work demands, personal struggles and family issues, all of which are important and need our undivided attention. Yet there is only one of us, one person who needs to try to accomplish so much with so little.

If only the time-turner existed!

If only I had a clone!

If only I could press pause…

Currently, the world is on pause. Life as we knew it, is now a distant memory as lockdown looms on into the foreseeable future and the worldwide pandemic forces us to adapt as my generation never has before. Everything we knew, is changing. All of our constants have disappeared overnight.

Yet instead of seeing the negative, I see an opportunity. An opportunity to do all those things we always said we would, but just never did. An opportunity to reconnect with those who we said we would catch up with, but never found the time. An opportunity to read all those books you bought and forgot you had.

An opportunity to pause reality and re-focus on what’s really important.

 

I recently read two of Duncan MacMillan’s plays, People, Places and Things and Every Brilliant Thing. And I was struck by how at the centre of both was the importance of human connection. Both plays are drastically different, covering different themes and following two very different lives, but it was human connection that drove them.

And it is what drives us. As human beings we are driven to feel connected to others, whether that be in person (so long as following current social distancing measures) or virtually via Zoom or Facetime. It is what makes us, us.

Lockdown is hard and there is no denying that. The lives we used to live seem like a lifetime ago and it seems implausible that only 5 weeks ago, we could still go out for coffee with friends or give our loved ones a hug. But instead of being bogged down by our ‘can’t’s, I urge you to find your ‘can’s. Use this time to pause, reset and refocus on what really matters and is really important.

Because at the end of the day, when this is all over and life returns to normal, I can almost guarantee, you will want a chance to pause.

Lets use the one we’ve got.

Lauren Asher

Lauren is part of the Bunbury Banter Young Playwrights Programme 2019-2020