Lockdown, love, nature, air and the future
I don’t dare use the “U” word…
Unprecedented.
Until 2020, most people would go from one year to the next without encountering the U word.
Now it seems as though it’s the most overused word in the English language and everyone is bored of hearing it.
But, the truth remains, these really are unprecedented times.
I’m almost 50 years old and we’ve certainly never experienced anything like this before in my lifetime.
Lockdown has meant many things to many people.
- Loss
- Anxiety
- Fear
- Emotional pain
- Financial pain
- Loneliness
- And more besides
To others it’s meant…
- Time
- Connection
- They’ve slowed down
- They’ve smelled the roses, for the first time in years
- They’ve sat out in the sun, topped up their vitamin D, relaxed and reduced stress
- They’ve taken walks with their kids
- Made all those long chatty phone calls to old friends they have been meaning to catch up with
- Been for a bike ride with their daughter
- Made LEGO with their son
- Made their first jigsaw puzzle in 15 years
- Had a lie in
- They’ve walked in their home-city streets in the cleanest air they can ever remember
- They’ve enjoyed the peace and quiet in their town, with 60% of the usual traffic gone from the roads
- Air pollution is down
- Greenhouse gas emissions, by some early accounts, have regressed to 2009 levels
- Cities can breathe again
- Skies are clearer
- Noise pollution is down
- Stressed executives are now working from home, not getting up at 5.30am for the 90-minute rush hour commute
- As a nation, we are realising, it’s not the movie stars, golf pros, rock stars and premier league goal scorers we stand out and applaud every Thursday evening
- The new stars are nurses and doctors, power grid engineers, delivery drivers, school teachers, farmers, sewage engineers and water treatment plant workers
Locked in our homes, isolated from all our normal social movements, it’s not the rock concert or star-studded movie or the big match we miss so much as…
- Hugging mum
- A walk on the beach
- Laughing over sillyness with best friends
- A picnic in the park
- Walking in nature
- Camping with the kids
- Sunday lunch with granny and grandad
I wonder, as countries release tight social movement restrictions, how we might have changed.
- Will the stressed workaholic now see that time with the kids is actually more important that a new Mercedes?
- Will that long commute now seem like a chore just not worth the price?
- Will some kids realise that kicking a ball around in the park has always been better than PlayStation and Xbox?
- Will we see that 500 channels of 24/7 TV, is a poor form of entertainment compared to walking over hills and cliff tops?
- Will we put down some of our apps, and spend more time cooking, hugging, and laughing with our families?
- Will more people now see, that our “natural capital”, the inherent value to our wellbeing in our woodlands, hills, beaches, parks and natural places, is worth more than this year’s dividend, a new car, or the latest consumer electronics?
They say “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” - and when we’re locked in our homes, and access to nature is restricted, we re-discover how important our natural capital really is.
- Clean air
- The beauty of nature
- The sounds of birdsong
- Holding hands
- The leaves on the trees
- Hugging
- Dew-soaked wet morning grass beneath your feet
- Sunshine
- Laughter
- Friendship
I hope we find ‘new good’ in our ‘new world’ as we adjust to our ‘new normal’.
How has lockdown changed you?
How has this time in our lives made you think?
Stay home, stay safe, stay sane.
Karl
