Learning from Lockdown
On March 23rd, when the UK was put into lockdown, we all had mixed emotions. You may have experienced shock, anxiety, sadness, or relief to name a few. Whilst many had assumed it was coming, this made the shock of it no less. The thought of our worlds coming to a standstill, no school, non-essential shops, cafes, restaurants, gyms, salons - the list goes on. It was a world we couldn’t imagine and yet one we found ourselves living in. Speculation soon began on how long this would all last, three weeks, six maybe, until summer? No one knew.
Fast forward eight months and our world has started to spin once again. Lockdown measures eased at varying paces across the country. Each restriction being lifted, meaning more to some than others, everyone had their own measure of what the end of lockdown was for them, whether it was the reopening of childcare settings, shops, being able to return to work or simply just to see your friends and family.
Each phase came with it a sense of joy and relief but also anxiety and perhaps sadness. You may have longed for the schools to open but shed a tear as your child walked through the school gate. You may have been relieved to finally see your mum but still felt pain from not being able to give her a hug, or grateful to return to work but fearful that you are putting your family at risk by doing so.
A pandemic which united so many, saw rainbows in windows, clapping in unison for our key workers - everyone stood together. But winter is approaching, the nights are drawing in, we feel ‘Covid fatigue’ sick of the ‘new normal’, ‘second wave’, ‘second lockdown’, ‘circuit breaker’ - headlines we’ve become so accustomed to. And now, with many of us across the UK finding ourselves once again back in lockdown, you may be feeling that 2020 isn’t improving as you hoped while we continue to adapt our lives through this pandemic.
Whatever your views are on the restrictions being imposed on our lives there is no denying that 2020 has created change in each of us. As time goes on it becomes more apparent that life after lockdown is not life as we once knew it. The speculation of ‘how long will this last?’ has exceeded most expectations, and we do not know when Covid-19 will no longer dominate our media, but we do know this, some things may never return to normal; because maybe normal wasn’t good enough.
Maybe you needed to stop having plans 24/7 and just call your loved ones instead, maybe you had to experience how valuable it is to exercise and get fresh air every day, to open your eyes and take in the beauty of where you live, maybe there needs to be less cars on the road, less planes in the sky, better work life balance and better hygiene! The world now feels like a much smaller place and once we are through this, it could be a much better place.
Regardless of what your year has looked like it has highlighted to each of us what matters most. Perhaps life after Covid-19 is a better life than the one before it, a change of perspective, and a new sense of gratitude for all that you have with a truer insight of what you really can live without. So take a moment and reflect on 2020 so far and decide what your better life will be.