Wait a minute—what just happened? I was living this very active busy life going to the gym 3 times a week, seeing my massage therapist, my chiropractor, writing, working part time, knitting and watching whatever appealed to me on TV. I spent my free time travelling, visiting my friends and having a grand old time. Then someone “hacked” into my world and took over, telling me where I can go, when I can go, and how I will behave when I am there. My last place of refuge currently is my home and my own property.
I have always admired writers who create fantastical worlds and populate them with weird and wonderful things. Harry Potter and all of his adventures, the Hunger Games trilogy being two of my favourite series. My imagination never takes me to such places in my mind. Instead I am fascinated with “true” stories, the stuff of everyday people living their everyday lives. I want to figure out what makes people behave as they do. In my world everything makes sense and there are always underlying reasons waiting to be discovered to answer, “why would she do that?”
Now I am perplexed as I witness the invasion of an invisible enemy bring everyone’s world crashing into a solid brick wall. I watched 40% of the careers that people chose end abruptly. Things that were important yesterday no longer matter. Many essential workers are paid a pittance, others with callings to help and care for others are risking their lives to save ours. My well to do friends are petrified as they watch the stock market free fall into oblivion. Others can’t pay their rent, they can’t buy food except with credit. Parents are suddenly home schooling. The world is upside down with no path forward. And all I can say is, “Now what?”
Now most of us have time on our hands. We are suddenly free to do all the things we said we would do if we had the time. Should be easy, right? But it’s not easy at all, at least it’s not easy for me. Everything I write seems mundane, useless and tedious. I feel frozen even though I am not. And I still have to put one foot in front of the other and take the next step.
And so, I want to encourage all of us to be kind to ourselves and our loved ones. There is no self-help book available to tell us how to get through a pandemic. So, do what you can and try to be content with that. And if you write dystopian tales please write a happy ending to this one.
