Why Lockdown Has Actually Been Good For Me

Hello, how have you been? It's been a funny few months, under very strange and sad circumstances. Even though it would have been the perfect time to write and plan lots of blog posts I took a step back. I don't know whether it was lack of inspiration or simply I wanted a break. But, here I am to give you a little life update. I'm lucky to say we had a very full house for pretty much all of lockdown, with my brother and his girlfriend over from England and, while it was pretty noisy at times, I'm so pleased we had! We played more board games than a child could dream of and had wonderful walks in the sunshine. For so many people this pandemic has been the worst thing they could've imagined whether they were on their own or affected by the virus. It's been a time filled with fears of the future, uncertainty and longing to see friends and family. However, I'm so grateful that we all stayed healthy and were able to enjoy the unexpected time together. As my mum rightly said, we would never get that amount of time with each other back so we did our best to make the most of it. 

'You can't change your situation, the only thing you can change is how you choose to deal with it.'

 - Anon

Life forced everyone to pause. The kind of break people dream of or just need, even if we didn't choose it ourselves. It was a chance to recharge. Of course, what has happened is heartbreaking but we can learn to make the most of situations and inject some positivity into a very scary time. So that's what I did - I made the most of it. I did jigsaws, baked as much as I wanted, got lost in books and did more exercise than I've ever done. Honestly? It was wonderful. I didn't have to feel guilty for sitting in my sweats binge-watching Friends, eating too much chocolate. Let's face it there was nothing else I had to do (after I finished all my Uni work that was). Sometimes we just need to stop for both our mental and physical health. Whenever I felt myself feeling anxious or having a down day, it was comforting to remind myself that we're all having those days because we're all in the same boat. No one knew what was really happening or what was going to happen - me sitting in my room panicking was not going to change that.

Don't get me wrong, there were lots of people who didn't get all this time, all of the wonderful key workers, but if you did I hope that you were able to use it to your advantage. It's been a time where I've learnt even more to appreciate the little things like spending quality time with my family or getting to eat dinner outside so often due to the warm weather. I hope, like me, you learnt to live in the moment because honestly there was no other option. It was the perfect opportunity to make the most of who and what I have and feel extremely grateful for it. 

'Coronavirus: A sudden vacation we will never forget.' 

- Anon.

Lockdown, for some of us, changed the way we look at life. A time to evaluate life and what we really want. Where do your passions lie and what's important to you? Does your life reflect this? I got to enjoy baking so much more as I had all this time to use up. It's always been a passion but I noticed this so much more. Maybe some day I'll chase those thoughts and let them be a bigger part of my life. Maybe you realised how you felt about going back to work or the thought of meeting up with certain people again. Let your post-lockdown life reflect what you really want and need from life. On that note,  here's a quote that really struck a cord with me - 'In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.' - Dave Hollis. 

Speaking of post lockdown, the thought of returning to work made me anxious. I knew there would be lots of safety measures in place, particularly with it being a retail job, but I had worries of chatting to customers again. What if I had forgotten how to hold a conversation because I had been in for so long? During lockdown, I felt like I was in a little bubble where I was safe and protected. Returning to normal life seemed daunting. I guess that's because I'm human (and also have anxiety!). I learnt to live with this new way of not going out, unless it was for groceries, filling my days with any random, mindless activities I could find. However, just like we learnt to adapt to life in lockdown, we'll readjust to life in the real world again - as normal, or not, as it is right now. I got back to work last week and it's still taking me a while to settle back in. I think that's okay. 

P.S. This is The Burning Wick's 100th blog post!!! Here's to many more!