© 2020 Charles Dunlevy
The beginning of the end of the pandemic is here. Finally there is a light at the end of this long tunnel.
As human beings, we are social by nature. We need contact and interaction with others. Being cooped up alone or with your immediate family is not a natural state for human beings. Prolonged isolation leads to a wide variety of side-effects.
I hate the term, “we are all in this together” because some of us have it better than others, but the statement rings true in terms of mental health. Some people are suffering the effects from being alone. Some are suffering the effects of being around the same people every day. Families are struggling. Couples are struggling. Single people are struggling. From this viewpoint, we really are all in this together, except for the covidiots.
For me, the second lockdown does not feel as bad as the first because this time around there is an end in sight to the pandemic. I am quite confident that by this time next year, the pandemic will be talked about in the past tense.
Post-pandemic, I expect most of us to have an increased appreciation for the things we missed. Going out to live theatre, live classical music at a music hall, rock concerts, house music festivals, or just hanging out at a coffee shop will all feel so much better once we are able to do so again. Watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, and Blue Jays in-person or at a local bar will be incredible. Attending Toronto’s many incredible cultural festivals will feel like a dream. True joy will return when we are able to participate in Caribbana, Taste of the Danforth, Taste of Little Italy, Beaches Jazz Festival, Little India Bazaar, Taste of Lawrence, Pride, and the Santa Claus Parade… plus the several others I may have forgot to mention.
As human beings, we tend to adapt to our immediate circumstances over time. At first, I was really struggling with the first lockdown. This time around, I am feeling much better due to optimism about the end of the pandemic. I have grown used to my time at home enjoying good food, movies, music, exercise, gaming, and computer coding.
I do look forward to getting out and enjoying this wonderful city again. I also look forward to going around the world to enjoy life as it was meant to be enjoyed. I am looking forward to Saturday nights in Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Lagos, Abuja, London, Paris, Halifax, Berlin, Nairobi, and Toronto.
Let us all make the best of this time to plan for our post-pandemic lives. I am using this extra home time to study various computer programming disciplines. I have learned more about programming during the past 9 months than I did in the preceding two years.