SUNSETS AND SLOW DAYS

As I’m sure most people have, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s going to happen when this pandemic ends. I know some folks think there is no way we can go back to the way things were before, but I’m not so sure, I think we all have short memories and it’s very easy to regress. I’m talking more about how people approach their lives, rather than practical changes (like social distancing etc.) as I think the practical changes are probably here to stay in some form or another, but the larger impact this has had on us as a society will be interesting to see.

I’ve mentioned before that I was already planning on making some big changes this year, but I feel like this pandemic has given me time to really strip things back, start to look at what’s important and how I want to spend my time. I think before this all happened I felt a bit trapped in my daily life. I had so many appointments: nails, eyebrows, laser, physio, therapy…. all these things that individually I really enjoyed and that improved my life in some way. But I felt I HAD to do them all. I don’t know why, obviously this was entirely self-imposed and I was incredibly privileged to be able to do all those things, but I think it was subconsciously overwhelming. I just got into this routine that was more than I wanted, which I think a lot of people will find relatable. Now that everything has been taken away, I can see how easily I can live without all of them.

That’s not to say I won’t go back to any of the things I did before when things open back up (god I want a haircut so badly!), but it means I can re-evaluate things with a clear head. I’ve still been working full time (although I finish up at the end of June) but I’ve appreciated a slower approach to life and having more time to reflect. I think a lot of people feel this way, but whether or not we can actually use this realisation to make changes to our lives when things start to open back up remains to be seen I guess.