Blog#47- 10/22/20
THE LONG WINTER AHEAD
By Richard Davis
When the pandemic started to take over our lives the spring season of growth and rebirth was providing us with some positive energy. As bad as things seemed, many were able to adapt to a life outdoors making the best of a bad situation.
If the federal government had made an effort to mount a unified response to the pandemic we would now be able to hunker down for the winter with the hope that the spread of the virus was controlled to some degree. Instead, the virus is out of control and the number of new cases continues to climb every day.
If you live in a place where there is no winter and the weather allows outside activity all year round you will be spared some of the threat to our collective mental health that the rest of us will have to guard against. Those in colder climates will have to figure out a way to survive what may prove to be one of the longest winters we have ever lived through.
If the virus had been contained better we might have had more options for entertainment and socializing. But containment has not happened and too many people think they are invincible as they emulate the behavior of a president who has no regard for the value of a human life other than his own.
Holding mask-less rallies and large gatherings at the White House should be considered a crime against humanity. As a result of the president’s reckless behavior thousands of people are dying. Our only hope for a plan to deal with the pandemic is to get rid of Trump with an unequivocal defeat so that he cannot contest the election.
Once he is gone, we will have to spend years cleaning up the messes he has created. The pandemic will not quickly ramp down with a new president but we can do more to prevent worst case scenarios. For the time being we have to figure out ways to make the best of our own individual lives as winter approaches.
One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to spend some time planning winter activities now so we do not get drawn into a vicious cycle of feeling trapped by the virus. Thankfully, most people have returned to work and that will provide much needed normalcy. But if the virus continues to spread as it is now there is a good chance that we will face lockdowns at the worst time of the year.
Be prepared for the worst, hope for the best. Make lists of indoor projects that you can work on. You may have already done this in the initial phase of the pandemic but there is always more to do. Reading books is a great way to escape the troubling world around us so making a list of winter books to read will provide a certain kind of therapy.
Even though winter is an indoor time there are still a lot of outdoor winter activities such as skiing and skating. Bicycle riding has become one of the most popular activities since March and that can continue well into the winter with a few accommodations.
We can socialize on a small scale as long as we are careful. If you ask friends about their travel and their health and know who you are socializing with then you might be able to safely meet with friends and family throughout the winter. The smaller the number of the group the better. Social distancing and mask wearing can be effective tools if used with common sense. That may be the best we can hope for.
