5 Things Learned in Lockdown

5 Things Learned in Lockdown

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Posted 2021-08-08 by Maria-MPG Narrativesfollow
After COVID ends, and it will, what will we have learned? Resilience will get us through, family is more important than ever, generous humans shine, and unfortunately, idiots will always annoy us. Just remember, we will survive this so here is a list of five things you may have learned during lockdowns.

1. Our resilience will see us through COVID-19.

Humans look adversity in the eye and beat it. Most of the time. This pandemic has us stumped though, and our resilience is being tested. We eagerly watch the 11am updates hoping numbers go down and book in for vaccinations, which can be testing with all the different points of view and government policies changing constantly. For many this is hard. Businesses, the elderly, the mentally-ill and young people are all suffering.

Small businesses are struggling to stay afloat, elderly people are missing out on seeing their families at a crucial time in their life, and young people don't have the social outlets they're all used to. Online video chat has taken over socialising physically at pubs and clubs. Mental illness has also been brought into focus.

Whole industries are affected too - Hospitality, travel, schools, events, the arts, with general retail also suffering. Some businesses are surviving because of online sales, which is a bonus they learned to use.


At the time of writing this article, Australia has lost 932 lives, a small amount compared to many other countries. This is due partly to our lockdowns. As brutal as they are, at least they have kept deaths down.

With all of this, hope keeps us going. Our resilience might be dented but we will triumph and must believe we will come out of this pandemic better for it.

2. Family has never been more important.

Social distancing has taught us how important family is and having them around you. It has been traumatic for some who have lost loved ones during this pandemic (a pain few can imagine). Especially when numbers were reduced for people attending funerals, how tragic for the deceased person who was loved by many.

Appreciating who is in your life and how much they are loved has been something many have learned. Absence makes the heart grow fonder has real meaning during lockdowns. Families have reverted to social media and video chats to keep in touch. Many people who had no idea how to use Zoom, or ever heard of it, now use it regularly.

Events such as weddings and birthdays have either been cancelled or reduced to the numbers the government allows at the time. For many people, these events are good times with family and friends, something we took for granted before the pandemic. To have your wedding disrupted or postponed several times is devastating.

We have learned to live with these restrictions in the hope that we will no longer need lockdowns when vaccination targets are met. Then we will go back to being with family and friends, and won't this be a wonderful feeling?

3. Staying home isn't all bad.

If someone had told us 18 months ago we would be staying home more and with many people working from home as well, we would have thought they were talking about a dystopian novel. People not going about their normal, everyday business in freedom? This is absurd.

But what this pandemic has taught us is that anything is possible and the times we are living in are absurd. The Delta strain has made things even more unbearable. To anyone who is struggling to accept what is happening, reach out and speak to someone who can help. You are not alone in this, many of us are not coping.

However, staying home is not all bad. Think of the money you are saving by not going out, and how you will enjoy this when you're able to holiday again. Many people who are working from home are saving in travel expenses, petrol and food. There is nothing wrong with homemade lunches that are cheaper and probably healthier. Although many of us are looking forward to visiting our local cafe and sitting down for lunch.

We are learning to be healthier too. Many are walking and exercising outdoors because gyms are closed. Even people who have never exercised are encouraged to go out for a walk. Get out and walk to your local park, those steps you take will help you lose those extra kilos lockdown has added. Also, there is something about being around the beauty of nature that encourages those endorphins to wash away the lockdown blues.



The other thing that having extra time on our hands has caused is an explosion in hobbies being taken up or reinvigorated. Who started baking during this pandemic? Or, did a puzzle or two. I took up crochet after years of not touching a crochet or knitting needle.

The 'Stay At Home' orders have been hard to deal with but if you focus on the positives, then it will help to get through this.



4. The generosity of humans shines through.

How good are the stories of people helping those doing it tough and those in need? Volunteers packing hampers of essentials, helping the elderly with groceries and businesses like Google and Microsoft are helping their employees suffering COVID by keeping their jobs safe. There are many Australian companies doing this as well.

No one could have predicted the impact of this pandemic and it is volunteers and generous companies that ease some of the pain. It is these people who we should thank when all this is over. There is information about volunteering in the link below.

5. Idiots will always annoy us.

Unfortunately, there are idiots among us. Conspiracy theorists seem to find a voice at times of crisis, and this doesn't help anyone. Especially those with mental issues. The best way to counteract this is to ignore them and concentrate on what our wonderful medical professionals are telling us. Between them and the government, we will prevail.

This is one of the biggest lessons we have learned - leadership and authority is needed in times of crisis so we can end this pandemic.

For more information about lockdown and COVID, visit government websites in your state. This is the one for NSW - ServiceNSW

If you are interested in volunteering your services, there is information here

If you are not coping and need someone to speak to visit Lifeline Australia

Stay safe everyone, think of the positives and the lessons you have learned during this pandemic.

#walks
#volunteering
#lists
#learn_something
#hobbies
#baking
%wnsydney
211549 - 2023-06-16 06:37:53

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