In fact fewer than one in five adults of the British public think now is the right time to reopen schools, restaurants, pubs and stadiums. For many people, lockdown has allowed them to to press the pause button on their hectic lives and to shift to a slower existence many getting outside more, walking, appreciating nature and spending more time with immediate family.
Unless that is, you are a key worker, in which case you are not only in immediate danger, but likely to have seen your workload increase in recent months, lockdown may well have provided a moment to reflect, and and reassess the direction in which your life may be going even; even if it has also impacted your income and security. Some people have made big decisions in their lives regarding work, marriage or health that will lead to additional change going forward. Others have used the space to reach out and create deeper and more meaningful connections with others in their lives or re-energised their desire to keep learning.
Perhaps our response to this pandemic doesn’t make sense, because the entire thing is senseless. Britain now has the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe and the projections are that the number of lives lost will continue to swell while all we can do is look on in horror at the statistics. People are at once worried about the health implications for themselves and others of ending lockdown and reluctant to see s return to the anxiety of modern life, about missing out on stuff or not feeling as they belong any more. Lockdown has forced a shift to a slower existence, in the past few weeks we have had time to adapt to a new way of being and to a new way of being and to grieve the loss of our previous reality. Now as we contemplate the end to lockdown, we find ourselves questioning whether it’s even possible to go back.
People now have to adjust again to yet another new way of being, one that is neither lockdown nor the same as our previous life. We are left with a huge amount of uncertainty, something that as humans we are not generally good at tolerating. Some things may be the same , others very different and other aspects of life that we valued before may never return.
We desperately want to go back to ‘normal’ but we know we can’t because everything has changed. We want to move on but we’re unsure of how t do it. We need each other but we need to keep apart to stay well. We are unsure how to do it because we are more alone and yet more together because the experience of this pandemic is universal; the virus doesn’t respect borders. It doesn’t care whether you want to leave the EU.
The so called normal life was already causing problems worldwide. Growing numbers of people were unable to afford basic items while some people made their fortunes. The wealthy minority got richer while others floundered on zero hour contracts to keep the cogs of capitalism turning. Do I nwant to return to this ‘normal’ world? I’ll have to think about that! Meanwhile thanks Boris but I’ll stay where I am, for now!
