When this is all over. That’s the mantra I keep telling myself and saying to others.
When this is all over, let’s travel to Berlin. When this is all over, I’ll take you for ice cream. When this is all over, I can give you a hug. The trouble is, we don’t know when this will all be over.
Countries are now starting to lift some restriction measures but in the UK we've not been informed of any 'post lockdown' plan and can currently only guess when things will return to normal.
LIVIN' LA FURLOUGHED LOCA
Having been furloughed, like a lot of the country, it makes this whole time even more surreal. By working from home, at least there was routine. Now there is too much time. The sun is out, but we can’t really enjoy it. It feels a bit like a holiday, but with no end. There is no destination – just the four walls I’m fortunate to be surrounded by.
I’m trying to see this period as a pause on my reality, rather than a blockade; it gives me time to rejuvenate and work on myself. Things that I usually ‘don’t have time for’ are getting done. I’m finishing books, writing more, learning skills, working out, and just trying to pass the time until this is all over.
However, trying to be productive isn’t always the most helpful thing. Some days I wake up at the moment, feeling despondent, and nothing useful gets done that day. I don’t have good days or bad days – I have good moments, bad moments, and neutral moments. I try to catch what I’m feeling and just surrender to it, rather than fight it. I know the bad feelings will eventually pass.
A POST-PANDEMIC PARADISE?
It’s hard to look to the future when it’s so uncertain. This will pass, but it makes you wonder – what good will come from the pandemic?
This situation is a life-changing, generational-altering period. It will change us all, whether we like it or not. I hope the good things, like the solid recognition of the NHS and key workers, will continue when normality returns. I hope that communities will remain united. This collective trauma will have bonded us.
Thinking about ‘when this is all over’ gives us hope for the future; that things will get better and we can get our lives back to normal. But hopefully, it also helps us make the most of our present – we still have to live, even if our lives feel like they’ve been paused.
When this is all over. We will get there, but we just need to be patient – life will then resume.
I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY:
Darkness never sustains. It might not feel like this right now but we will all get through this.
We’ve all had to adapt to a new normal, but there are plenty of good things we can learn take from this - helping out our neighbours, giving thanks to key workers etc.
We don’t all have to come out of this having accomplished everything we wanted. There’s no need to put pressure on ourselves to be super productive - just take each day as it comes.
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