Maybe it’s a good time to remember smiles are infectious too!

Right now, it feels like we are at peak pandemic. 

2 years of rules, restrictions and having our lives turned on their heads and now the virus is with us like an unwanted relative that’s invited themselves to stay and arrived on the afternoon that we’ve just run a marathon.

So, what can we do to help navigate this time and these feelings? 

 Just as there are tips and techniques that allow us to run that physical marathon, there’s a bunch that will strengthen our mental capacity and helps us reach the finish line.

 Accept we can’t control what we can’t control. Know that it’s OK that we have uncertainty and quite natural that we don’t want to plan or make time dependant commitments. Know that it’s OK that we are weary and don’t have the usual spring in our step.

Understanding there are no rules that say life has to be fair to everyone - it is what it is and we are where we are. No judgements, no justification.

Checking in with each other. How are you. Can I help with anything? Realising that we aren’t alone in how we are feeling right now.

 Looking for opportunities to continue life as usual.  A simple social activity, a community connection, something fun and cheap or free to do. A yarn with other parents at the school gate. Dog walking with a friend. A visit to the farmer’s market. Enjoying the soon to be Arrowtown autumn colours. Take a bus ride if you haven’t done it yet.  Low hanging fruit that are within reach. It’s fine to be out and about. We don’t need to hide.

And don’t forget, we are surrounded by one of the greatest healing forces for our wellbeing - nature - and there’s no charge for the prescription.

An early morning walk in the park with the sounds of a new day starting as the dawn breaks. Enjoying a homemade picnic and stone skimming with the kids at the lake edge. The solitude, birdsong, sounds of rushing water and the discernible smell of our native forest.

 Nature is something we can be truly thankful for. 

 We can even be grateful to Covid.

 If we’ve worked from home, we’ve been gifted time otherwise spent on a bus or in traffic.

Our place has very much been our place rather than one where we are crowded out by visitors. A respite from endless growth.

 It has bought a pause that gives a chance to build back better. Our worldwide carbon emissions took a hit. It has allowed community groups to lead, create an identity and take action. It has prompted immigration visa opportunities that wouldn’t have otherwise existed. We housed our homeless for the first time ever.

It has provided lasting memories that we will talk and laugh about for years to come. How we were, what we did during lockdowns, the conversations we had whilst queuing for 3 hours for a drive through jab. Learning how to add eyebrows on Zoom. And for many people it provided the opportunity to rethink what is important, what is valued and what our values are.

We will be back to some sort of normal soon. It will be a new normal but probably far more recognisable than the last couple of years. It will have new challenges for us to face and we will need to face up to ones that we were already aware of. 

But if we look, we will find many new opportunities in this time of rapid change and seeing those opportunities is the first step to collectively making them happen.

John Glover is a tourism accommodation owner and GoodYarn workshop facilitator for the Southern Wellbeing Trust.  

Published in the Lakes Weekly Bulletin, see here. And published on the Southern Wellbeing Trust website.