Lockdown Life

Weird. Tragic. Frustrating. Fascinating. This is a global reality show that we are all glued to. And rightly so, Covid-19 hasn't just spilt a bit of gravy on someone's lap, even or ripped the tablecloth off our nicely laid out dinner table, it has picked the whole thing up and violently upended it.  And when we finally pick up all the pieces, cook new meals, and settle down for our comfortable dinner, we are likely to have some new crockery (maybe less of it) and a menu that is not entirely the same as it was previously.

Interesting times. I now have a 10-second commute. Half of my wardrobe is now redundant (which many would say isn't a bad thing). Our bike shed has finally been cleaned out after about 3 years of meaning to do it. We have a new vege garden. But I still cannot get over feeling like a leper as people take wide berths around me when out walking.  Cycling through an empty town it feels like I'm on a movie set and the story is about aliens coming in and taking all the people away. Or is this just all a giant Truman show?

I wouldn't be surprised if in the year 2050 we looked at the most commonly printed words on the internet for the century and Covid/Corona virus sat in the top spot. This is the most reported event in living memory by a very long shot. We are in the middle of a thriller. Plots and sub-plots. A prime minister nearly dies, we have a Swedish experiment (or is it a gamble?), conspiracy theories abound, a president uses this as a stage to demonstrate every one of his many failings. Over and over. Tragic scenes in both first and third world countries. Massive acts of compassion and charity. And no one knows what twists and turns await us or how it's going to end.

I'm interested to read everyone's predictions of what a post-Covid world looks like. History tells us that the experts are frequently well wide of the mark and often less accurate than the layperson. Yet we voraciously consume their supposed wisdom and often base decisions upon it, happily assuming that their mastery of a topic in some way qualifies them to be an adept crystal ball reader. 

All I know is things will be different. I'm loving the fact that the planet is getting a breather. But is it going to last? Will normal service will resume once there is a vaccine? How long will our airports remain massive parking lots? (Anyone in the market for a cheap Boeing or Airbus?) Or will people not want to lose those environmental gains and alter their behaviour to a new normal?

We have two opposing forces on this. One, we have short memories and tend to alter them to suit our current desires and beliefs, but on the other hand, social conformance is a powerful thing and if there is enough collective will to do things differently, we may reach the tipping point of where more people are walking the talk than just talking the talk.

I'm hoping the former, and mother nature has just delivered us the swift kick in the goolies we needed.