Today should have been our wedding day.
In all the chaos of Covid-19 this was one of the casualties, a small casualty in the great scheme of things but not inconsequential in our little world.
We all had great plans for this year that have been cancelled or put on hold. In a very short space of time – essentially over one generation – the world became one huge open playground with unlimited access to people and places we never dreamed of. Then, in what seemed like overnight, it became very small and limited to our own back gardens. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from this is gratitude for the privilege of my personal freedom. The recent physical limits and their knock on effects on every part of my life have thrown just how much I took this for granted into sharp relief.
Along with all of the things that have been lost – so much has been found. Time spent with family instead of on public transport, derelict back gardens planted for food and pleasure, dusty books cracked open, fledgling bakers whipping up a storm of flour and eggs and maybe people have even found a little time to be still and just think.
What will be the consequence of this complete break from the ‘normality’ of the rat race? Will more people take a chance on another life – another way of living? There has never been a better time to try something new if you have a yearning for change. The world has hit the reset button and at a time when you have unlimited access to more information than you will ever need.
If you always wanted to start a coffee shop – there’s a book on that (I’ve not read it but Colin Harmon’s What I know about running coffee shops looks great and he sure runs great coffee shops 🙂 ), want to sell start selling your adorable homemade baby onesies online – creating a shop or a website is just a click away, fancy retraining as pretty much anything – check out Udemy to for a low cost taster course and then progress on to the myriad of certified online courses from places like The Open University.
There has never been a better time to shake things up and discover a new path through life that is better suited to how you want to live. Long ago I gave up my search for my ‘Life Purpose’. As it turns out – this concept of ‘Life Purpose’ is a lot like the search for a ‘Soul Mate’, a bitter game of trying to second guess your future self’s idea of perfection. It can be just another way for us to beat ourselves over the head about being a failure. Instead of trying to find ‘The One’, what I now pursue are things that spark excitement and potential in me that also push me just a little further than I can currently reach.
These are not always big things – at the moment – its the Couch to 5k – I’m on week 5, progressing slowly but determinedly towards becoming a confident, easy jogger – something I’ve wanted to be able to do for years. For me, life is less like a box of chocolates (must re-watch that movie!) and more like a menu – somethings might currently be out of my price range but that doesn’t stop me from working towards them – they aren’t in any way off limits for me.
Very soon, hopefully those of us lucky enough to enjoy complete personal freedom will get that privilege back again.
Forget all the things that didn’t happen – what are the positives and opportunities of Covid-19 for you?