365 days...
It has been a little more than 365 days since the World Health Organization announced a novel coronavirus had been isolated from a person in hospital, and it will be a less than 365 days when everyone will have received a vaccination for the virus that causes COVID-19 (at least in Canada). It’s a pandemic that will be (and already is) measured in the millions, and has involved governments, communities, and individuals attempting to incorporate the simplest of public health measures to fight the virus. Social distancing, socially isolating when sick, hand washing, and good hygiene — all in an attempt to stop the virus from spreading, which evolutionarily speaking, is designed to do.
On a daily basis, the news cycle offers up a tally of cases, hospitalizations, deaths, unemployed, closures, and now, the number of people vaccinated (it was pointed out to me recently that newscasters have it easy now. All they have to do is cite the numbers of the day). It’s a relentless bombardment on our individual and collective psychology, all at a time when our personal distractions and coping mechanisms have been stripped away. We lament there is nothing to do but what we’re really saying is we can’t do what we used to do, and we’re not happy about it. If not literally, we figuratively wait, and so does SARS CoV-2.
There is a long game when it comes to a modern pandemic: simply get vaccinated before you get sick. We’re 365 days into this pandemic and we’ve another 365 days to go; with each day that passes, get closer to what we remember as normality (at least we thing we can remember).
With this in mind, this is what I plan to do over the next 365 days to help get me through this crisis.
Work really hard to stay healthy and keep others healthy
Be there for family and friends, and help keep them safe (refer to #1)
Continue to be of value to those I work with
Don’t let all that practical “life stuff” slide just because I think every day seems the same and I just don’t feel like doing it (you know like — taxes, doctor’s appointments, blogs, getting my car licence, better rigor around my investing… stuff like that)
Keep running stairs, keep riding my gravel bike, stay mobile and don’t sit too much, keep eating right, and get lots of fresh air
Stay imaginative and try new things (even if they are small and seemingly insignificant). Keep the brain working and “relatively sharp”
Plan that next trip. You’re definitely gonna need it after this is all over.
It’s amazing what you can accomplish in 365 days — I’m optimistic.
iamgpe
PS: Why the picture of a bike in the snow? Well this is a manifestation of me exercising, getting fresh air and being imaginative. Riding a bike in the snow is so much fun!
PPS: If you have gotten this far you’ve probably recognized I’ve put my 365 day plan down on paper ( I wanted to keep them broad because, in the time of COVID, i want to stay “nimble”).
Come on people, it’s the beginning of a new year — get it down on “paper”.