How many online groups are you a part of? Don’t be shy. At the height of the hard lockdown last year, I belonged to at least five, one for each of my various interests including cooking and zero-waste living. For most of these communities, I remained a lurker, content to peek at what everybody else was doing. But there was one community that I could not stop joyscrolling in, CQ Diaries.

It was around April last year that I received an invitation to join the community via Daphne Oseña Paez. I have followed Daphne’s works since she came out with Video Postcards. When she later on became a mom, I would, time and again, interview her about this and that. She was always a reliable source.

CQ Diaries was love at first scroll for me.

Amidst the doom and gloom of my social media feed, where almost every day I was shocked with one miserable piece of news after another, CQ Diaries brought me to an otherworld where meals are cooked with an abundance of love, hands are kept busy in artistic pursuits, and homes are transformed into sanctuaries from the worries of the world. Every other day or so, we would be serenaded by a girl with her flute. In the afternoons, I looked forward to the seascapes of a fellow quarantined living in Dumaguete. It was the nearest that a beach bum like me could get to the waters.

The quarantined have given a new meaning to nesting, and how!

How did this charming otherworld come to life? Daphne explains.

“I’d always been wanting to create an interactive community with my readers but couldn’t find the time or motivation. When community quarantine was declared on March 15, it was my birthday. The words kept ringing in my head. It was a very confusing and dismal time. I had a lot of fears. They were just nicer words for “lockdown.” Then on March 17, it became enhanced community quarantine or ECQ. The sound of the words and letters just jumbled in my head. As days went by, I started to get a grip on the situation and settle into a routine with my family. Then I thought, CQ sounded a lot like Seek You. But I didn’t tell anyone that. I just kept it to myself. And there I was, seeking me, seeking God, seeking the meaning of all this.”

“When the pandemic struck, I found it hard to write, work, and post pictures. A lot of my posts then were snippets of my little lockdown life mixed with prayers. I still find it hard to post about products, places, and the good life. A lot of people are experiencing great loss.”

In seeking the meaning of all this, Daphne created a Facebook Group and called it CQ Diaries, on April 4, 2020.

“I really just wanted to hear from my readers. I wanted to see how they were. It wasn’t modelled after any existing group. I knew what I didn’t want. I was very clear – no posts about COVID, no politics, no news, no fake news, no outside links, no selling. There were already so many forums and groups that focused on selling, bartering, and sharing health and emergency info. I just wanted CQ Diaries to be a place where people could see beauty, share ideas, feel better.”

Daphne, it seems, wasn’t the only one seeking a safe space as the feedback was overwhelming and immediate.

The quarantined so wanted to connect from their isolation that there burst forth a tidal wave of posts—and kindness. Everyone lifted everybody else. Queries were answered, recipes shared, DIYs analyzed and discussed.

“CQ Diaries was very timely,” says CQ member Butchie Diano Peña.

“At the onset of the lockdown, Daphne invited me to join the group. I thought it would be intimidating at first but then I saw everyone’s efforts to make the most of social isolation by being creative about anything – baking, planting, creating art, redesigning homes, sharing experiences which were all so inspiring!”

Shiela Culpa-Arreglo, another member, liked the personal projects best.  She was particular inspired by the evolution of spaces, turning barely looked at yard into green spaces and work area. She adds, “I went into full-on balcony gardening so I felt like I am with kindred spirits. I was and still am amazed by the creative pursuits members took from embroidery, painting to making capsuled malunggay powder. It’s so heartwarming.”

Analyn Martin agrees.

“I saw that in the community there were so many who were talented, whether it’s sewing, cooking, gardening, or drawing/painting.”

Analyn liked that she could connect to another person even if they didn’t know one another through a simple post or photo.

“The memorable posts for me was when we would start talking and sharing about a particular subject or photos. Things that would spark conversation and we sort of get to know each other,” Butchie says.

In the case of Kathy de Guzman, a fellow member’s post about a neighbor playing the piano struck a chord.

She says, “Just a background, I love playing the piano! I am not that good but because of the quarantine, I was able to practice more. It just felt like the author is my own next door neighbor commenting on my playing. I sure hope someone in my community is happy with my attempts in playing. Masarap sa feeling to know there are many adults rediscovering their passions outside their careers.”

More than serving as inspiration for their different passions, the community gave its members a safe space.

As a frontliner, Kathy likened CQ Diaries to a breath of fresh air. She says, “I love feeling the essence of humanity where people talk about family and passions in life and simply living.”

Shiela says, “I love that spirit of sharing and the sense of calmness… Every coping activity that was shared made me smile and appreciate how each of us can still find hope in a very gloomy landscape.”

As we continue with our locked down lives, CQ Diaries serves as a reminder that we can grow amidst sorrow and thrive amidst adversity. We used to seek outwards to bring color into our lives, through friends, events, and travel. We now know that we only need to seek inwards to make for ourselves interesting, fulfilling lives.

Stay safe. Stay sane.

Photo by Cup of Couple from Pexels