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by enriquelopezgarre
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When
This is Over…
How
are things with you these days? I imagine there have been significant
changes to your normal routine. Confinement has seen me running out
of excuses and actually tacking the mess I laughingly call my study.
(Starting to tackle)
My
local shop is allowing just two customers in at any one time. He
has considerately
marked out the floor into metre squares in black and yellow tape.
Shopping is now a dance class,
but we are all grateful. I
like chunky rolled oats for my porridge and it is not easy to come by
these days.
But
my local shopkeeper, who doesn’t usually carry them, found a box
for me and
made a friend for life.
I
needed
to visit the chemist in
the city centre and the roads and pavements
were quieter than a wet Sunday in November.
I knew the police were
stopping drivers to ask if they have a legitimate reason to be out. I
did, but I still felt somehow guilty, waiting for that tap on the
shoulder. We had to go to the
hospital and that journey has never been so quick and trouble free.
When
I walk my dog the streets are eerily quiet. I
am reminded of the 1959 film On
The Beach, an end of the world following nuclear
war story by Nevil Shute.
Streets
become increasingly bare
and empty, ordinary life breaks down as the radiation poison spreads.
The
only person left in the world in the end is the cameraman. Funny
that.
Of
course, this isn’t the end of the world. We will get through this,
though at unimaginable cost in lives, livelihoods, mental, emotional,
and economic damage. As
we become accustomed to this new reality, people
will surely find themselves making ‘when this is over’ promises
to themselves. When this is over I’m going to
stop making excuses and...
chase
that job...
Take
that trip…
End
that relationship…
Mend
that relationship…
Finally
propose…
Start
my business…
Hold
my family that much closer...
Fill
in your own ‘when this is over’ promise…
However,
when this is
over some of us won’t be here, and not just because of Covid-19.
Notwithstanding the virus the
mortality rate is still 100% - that’s life. We are all staring into
eternity. For
some it is more immediate than for others, but it is a reality for
all. One thing I have learned is you can’t negotiate with eternity.
Can
I suggest, therefore, instead of making ‘when this is over’
resolutions, those who can might take
‘by the time this is over’ actions.
If eternal questions are on
your mind there are plenty of good resources available. f you know a
Christian I am sure they can recommend some. I am a Christian by the
way and I welcome questions,
but it doesn’t have to be
me.
Many
are already complaining about how restrictive and boring this
enforced isolation is. It looks like life isn’t going to get back
to normal (whatever your normal is) for some time to come.
I
am currently inundated
with offers of free to download books about all sorts of subjects,
short courses that are normally paid
for are, for a limited time, being offered in exchange for simply
signing up to a list. Perhaps, like me, you have some sorting out to
do. Why not use
the time wisely and with purpose. By the time this is over I will
have…
Learned
a language…
Called
an old friend…
Sorted
my shed…
Planted
a border…
Started
a blog…
Started
a website…
Learned
the piano…
Talked
to someone about God...
Become
expert at something…at least good enough to hold my own in the
black chair.
Apart
from tidying my study, I am learning a new note-taking system. I
hope, by the time this is over, I will have mastered a system of
note-taking that makes me more efficient in my writing, and have a
better ordered study in which to write (if you’re the gambling type
I’d put money on the first...ahem)
Of
course, when this is over I will hold my family closer and I am sure
you will yours. When this is over I will want to make changes, moved
perhaps by these times, resolved maybe by the reassessment that is
common to many of us in these days, to make a greater difference in
my little part of the world. But...
What
will you have done by the time this is over?
Stay safe
Stay safe
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