The Light at the End of the Tunnel and My New Normal

Its been said that if you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, you are facing the wrong way.  And that describes exactly how it felt last night when we were informed that lockdown would be extended for another two weeks.

Economy not being a factor, the blow would be equally hard to take.  People, and by that, I mean me, have survived remarkably well over the initial two weeks of the lockdown. I started a day early; Shopping had been done, books had been bought and we weren’t going anywhere, and there is the possibility that I may have been thinking along the lines of sooner started sooner finished. That much acclaimed light seems very bright right now.

Keeping sane has been an easier task than I had anticipated. Sticking to my roster and keeping my mind fed and watered have certainly helped.  But there is that itch we all have, the one that can only be scratched by human interaction.  Not in the biblical sense, but rather in seeing a different face, be it of a loved one or the cashier at the garage.  Being denied the freedom to seek out these faces is where the strain on my sanity is coming from.  Popping to the shops for tonight’s dinner and waving at the woman in the dairy, chatting to Barbra as she rings up my purchase; these are my anchors, these are my normal.

I haven’t been out shopping for anything, so going around behind a facemask is completely foreign to me.  I am sure the day will come when I need to go out again, when I must face society’s new normal.  With time it will also become mine. But I wonder, how is Barbra going to see me smile?  More to the point, how will anyone know that I am sticking my tongue out at them.  Small things I know, but important in keeping things on an even keel.

Most people have done their part and remained home.  In more than a few instances it was probably a difficult adjustment.  But then it became habit.  We rediscovered our families, partners, significant others.  Working from home has actually proven to be successful. Something many traffic stressed individuals would love to continue. 

It is interesting to note though, that people can work from home a lot more than expected.  There are water tanks and means to fill them for those in areas that up to now had to make to with virtually nothing.  There is money to help the hungry.  Why has it taken a crisis of these proportions to get things done? Why do we always wait for the horse to bolt before we close the barn door?

Maybe when we emerge, and this is something we can all work towards in the time we have, cognisance of others, awareness of circumstances and concertedly working to change the course of lives. If nothing else, this virus has been the great equalizer.  I have read that patterns of infection and death are slowly starting to emerge.  But this is all after the fact.  I don’t think there is any segment of any community that has not been affected.

This is not about politics; this is about setting politics aside for the greater good.  Let the new normal be the foundation of a strong nation, of people finally understanding that we are all equal.  I did promise that I would not turn my blog into a forum for political ranting and I intend to keep it so.  But as we face a decidedly uncertain future there is no way in which we can ignore the past.