NEW NORMAL

“And now we realise how great our life was a month ago.” – Craig Harper

Perspective. If there is any message all of this mess is sending us right now, it is perspective. 

All of a sudden, that beef we had with our (ex)best friend, that roll on our tummy that annoys us when we sit forward, the frantic rush we are constantly putting ourselves into to keep up with the rat race, none of it matters.

All the things that are truly important to us are now in the forefront of our minds. Our family. Our friends. Our health. Beyond that we’re not really that fussed. 

It’s great.

Yes there are dirtbags hoarding all the food. Yes there is a tonne of uncertainty about ALL of our jobs. Yes none of us know when this is going to end. But despite all of this, we are going to be okay. None of these problems we have much control over, so we shouldn’t be wasting our time worrying about them. As for work, it looks like if we’re gonna go down, we’ll all go down together. So really, if we all end up on the same level, nothing changes. 

It all seems so scary because we’ve never been here before. But the people before us have, in different and arguably more scary ways, many many times before. We are the most privileged, fortunate and comfortable generation of all mankind. Even with all of this going on we are still the most fortunate generation. Want to hear of more fortune? We live in Australia. We are so fortunate that we have some of the best access to medicine, health care and sustainable(ish) farming on the entire planet. We also have a government that, although it falls short many times over, has steered us through many troubling times before, including managing an economy that bounces back over and over. 

Spending every day immersing ourselves in the media and fearing the future is a complete waste of our energy. Energy that can be spent planning and preparing to the best of our knowledge with the best sources of information we can access, for whatever the heck comes next. That is all you can do. 

We control what is in front of us. We can make smart decisions in our work and finances, spend smart, audit your outgoings and seek new previously unthought of opportunities that may just overhaul your business for the better. We can be kind to everyone, you have no idea how worrisome of a day someone else might be having. If you can go out of your way for one other person else, it might just be the bit of humanity they need to feel more calm about their situation. We support small businesses as best we can. We ask our employer what we can do to help. We call our nan and have a lengthy chat about anything but what is going on. We can watch the crowdless footy and enjoy every second of it (no debates on the sensibility of what they’re doing here! It appears that they’ve all minimised their contact to work and home only, and their families have dialled back social contact to do their part too). We send some love to a healthcare worker. We check in on everybody, because loneliness is going to be rife in our communities.

We remind ourselves that we have our family, our friends and our health, and that is all that really matters.

For now, this is our new normal. Every bit of time you spend complaining and worrying is your loss. Be grateful, be proactive, wash your hands, ride the rollercoaster.

Happy Thursday!

Stu