We are now in week six of lockdown and there is a noticeable change of demeanour with us and many of our family and friends. I think we seem to have come to a point where it is hitting home that we are nowhere near getting back to any kind of normality in our lives, frustration, boredom and anxiety hovering around below the surface has been bubbling up and affecting our mood more than ever.
All this talk about the ‘New Normal’ as mentioned by Government, repeated on social media and news channels, has brought home the fact that our future won’t be anything like we had before or have now.
The big question is; What will this new normal look like for us? The answer currently being, we don’t know and neither yet do the powers-that-be, it would appear.
It’s a very subjective question in the first instance, because my normal and your normal are more than likely two very different worlds. As I have discovered talking to friends and family our current normal is proving to be a different place for us all, as was our previous normal. You still with me?
Of course, I understand the use of the term ‘The New Normal’ in our current situation. Our future is going to be different to anything we have thus far experienced. Our freedoms and the choices we make are going to be curtailed. The rules of our democracy are being ‘temporarily’ re-written. Now I am starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. I am beginning to realise how much I value living in a free and open society, with a Government that appears, at least on the surface and that is all I have to go on, to be governing with the will of the people, for the people and sometimes with brutal honesty (let’s hope they are not being too selective with what they are telling us).
So, this ‘New Normal’ phrase has got me thinking, (I seem to have more time for this particular activity these days!) and more research and brain ache has resulted.
I googled the word ‘Normal’. It’s origin is Latin; norma (a carpenter’s square) - normalis becoming norm in English and by the mid 17th century it becomes the word we use today - normal.
As an adjective its meaning is; conforming to a standard; usual, typical or expected. As a noun; the usual, typical or expected state or condition.
We quite often use the term informally to describe a person; “Well she seemed quite normal at the time”. He’s normally such a positive chap. Or “I normally breakfast at 8am”. I normally walk in the mornings. Its normal to brush your teeth before bed every night. We normally take a holiday once a year.
Its use suggests conformity, something or someone who doesn’t veer from what is expected. It also expresses restriction because you are not straying from convention. The exact opposite, in fact, of freedom. It would appear we all apply our own understanding of normal when we use it at a personal level.
This raises yet more questions for me. Are we restricted by our own experiences of normal? If we are then we face a double-edged sword. We have our own normal, the personal restrictions we put on our lives and the ‘new normal’ the one government is asking us to apply to our lives. Does democracy put restrictions on our lives anyway? Confused? Me too. Too many levels. I am going to stick to the personal and the questions I am now asking myself.
How do I see my new, yet to be explored world? The million-dollar question raises more questions than answers at the moment. Not a comfortable place to be in, the unknown.
Our current normal has involved much change for us all. Restrictions on virtually every part of our lives. We can no longer pop out for a coffee, meet family or friends. Dash back out if we have forgotten something for tea. Go to the pub, take Hygge away for a few days, go to the seaside, climb a mountain or even go to the shops for that dress I have had my eye on for a while. So many restrictions and yet amidst all of this we have, over the course of a few weeks, created our own new normal. Routines are in place, familiarity resumes and before we know it the new normal has simply become normal.
As retirees in good health, for which I am so grateful, we have been very lucky during this crisis. We have seen and experienced many positives during our current change in circumstance. Our current normal has given us time to reconnect with nature even without Hygge. Slow down our lives a little and take our time, enjoying the moment. Given us respite from the need to be doing or going. Re-engage with our interests and hobbies or find new ones. Enjoy the quiet stillness around us, smell the spring blossoms and flowers. We have time to read books. We facetime family and friends more regularly, check on the neighbours and volunteer to help those in need at this time.
What happens when the Government moves the goal posts and introduces a band new normal? Whoopie is my initial reaction, a bit more freedom? Normal service to be resumed, almost? But hold on a second I have a new normal now and you are going to ask me to change that again to something else that won’t resemble my life now or my normal before?
I understand there will be many people who cannot wait for some kind of pre-pandemic normal to come back. I would like that too, but it’s not going to happen any time soon. After the next ‘new normal’ there will be further ‘new normals’ to follow in the coming months, all of which will involve us adapting, changing and re-setting our current normal. I guess this is not a huge ask in the general scheme of things, but it does mess with our mental balance and our personal idea of what we consider normal.
So, I am already starting to mentally prepare myself for my new ‘new’ normal in whatever form that may be and for the highs and lows that will no doubt come with it, but I am determined to adjust to all the changes with a smile and a positive attitude as much as possible. Maybe I will have to turn up that sing-a-long in the shower music, a couple more notches!
Thursday was Captain Colonel Tom’s 100th Birthday. We tuned in to watch the celebrations including the Spitfire and Hurricane Flypast. It really made me think about life for our ancestors during the Second World War, all the uncertainty and the sacrifices made, nobody was left untouched. Captain Tom has encapsulated the bravery, selflessness and sheer determination of a nation to win through together. I hope in the future our descendants will say the same of us.
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