The End Of Socialization?
All of us are coping with the Shut-In-Syndrome in different ways. Some people are doing home improvement projects while others are doing self improvement projects. Many are catching up with things like downloading pictures off of old devices and saving them or even printing them to make photo albums. With all this extra time to finally stop putting things off, I have found a way to put things off: lack of motivation.
I think it’s probably depression from the inability to go and do the things I normally do. No rock climbing, no gym, and worst of all, no hockey. These physical activities help me de-stress from work and home pressures by freeing up my mind for a short time. I’m running, biking, and doing other activities to keep moving, but it’s not the same. I think that’s only part of the problem, though.
What I’m really missing is the socialization with friends, family, and teammates. Our warm embraces and shared laughter is what recharges my batteries. It also inspires me to write, either for my blog or the last novel I’ve been working on. Without the interactions, I’ve been feeling very lackluster in the creativity department.
There is a small frog in Puerto Rico called the coquí that, according to island legend, cannot live without its own kind. Anyone who takes the tiny brown amphibian away from the island will end up with a dead frog in a short amount of time, due to the intense loneliness of being taken away from its home. I kind of understand how they feel right now.
I have many blessings: a home to come to, healthy family, and a job to go to. We are trying to help out those we can with what we have. I have no reason to complain whatsoever and yet I’m in a small funk. I think it’s because we have never dealt with anything like this before and there is no reliable timeline on a return to normal. If I had a deadline, I’m sure I’d be pushing myself to get those pictures saved on a cloud before getting back into the busy schedule that was our lives pre-pandemic. An expiry date to all this madness. That’s not how this story is going to end, folks. Until a safe and reliable vaccine is available, there will be no normal. It will be an adjusted normal so that we can all get back to work and not have fear of grocery shopping. I’m just trying to keep on reminding myself that things could be a helluva lot worse and that taking each day as it comes is better than staring down a dark road trying to find our destination. We will get there in time, we have a map that says so. It’s going to take a lot more inner strength and leaning on each other to do it, but we will get there.
I’m hoping that my funk will go away. It’s probably going to take me giving myself a deadline to get one project done and focus only on that. When that gets done, make another goal and deadline. That’ll take my mind off of things, I think. I’m going to give it a try, at least. Focusing on what I have influence over instead of worrying about what I can’t control seems like a sure fire way to get motivated again, maybe even feel better until we can start gathering again and sharing our stories of how we all got through this.
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