It feels like trying to write about the work pre pandemic would be futile. Mostly because, really, I think of it as behind a mist. Nowadays, when I’m watching TV, I instantly feel like the actors should be socially distanced, even if filmed before it all started. I first noticed while watching a play on YouTube, and its stuck.
I’ve also noticed a distinct lack of progress. The thing about going to work, going on holiday, going to meet friends, is going somewhere, sometimes. Now those things have become digital if they are to exist at all, and my friends and I now do what we call Sanity calls some Sundays. Just to keep in check. Mostly these sessions are spent comparing our varied experiences of the pandemic, and bitching about covidiots.
This sense of being stuck came to a head back in August, and, on the eve of my birthday, I cried. I’m not an emotional person, but I cried like a baby for about 20 minutes. A week later, I was on a coach, on my own, travelling to London on my first ‘holiday’ alone, without my family or my fiance. It was impulsive, safely done and, absolutely necessary.
There’s always something in your life you’re anxious to do, because it makes you anxious. There’s a sort of nervous excitement behind it, and it might be exercising in public or raising your hand in a class, or a meeting, to say something. Anxiety has stopped me from doing these things for most of my life, but my trip to London has taught me these experiences are rewarding in the end. More so if preceded by that initial panic. Sometimes, all it takes is a one second snap.
I think now more than ever, it’s important to maintain an idea of progress. Whether its confronting a fear, creating a research project about anything that may interest you, or just keeping a log of all the things you’re doing, such as new recipes or movies you’ve watched. It’s not pointless, and, while it might not necessarily make you money, or progress you in your careers, it has value. Growth is always valuable.
Paint a Mental Picture 