Inevitable change

Before the pandemic, staying home felt impossible. We started our commutes early in the morning, worked full days, rushed off to various activities, hopefully enjoy an evening with family or friends - wind down, and do it all over again. Weekends were packed for months on end, and somehow… we made it work.

These days, my frequency has settled to a low hum. At most, I walk the dog - maybe do a workout, probably cook dinner, and watch tv before calling it a night. Pre-pandemic, learning to “chill” meant for me subscribing to fancy meditation apps or spending hours bending myself into sweaty poses in a yoga studio, but never in my life had I been forced to stop.

Nights that were once spent in crowded bars, turned into baking bread or rediscovering my love for reading - and it turns out, I didn’t hate it. Sure, we all had those moments where we were on yet another zoom birthday party and would do anything for a vacation outside of the confines of your home - but being able to perfect that sourdough starter during a lunch hour started to have its own mundane perks too.

One day, the pendulum will swing in a different direction. People may never wake up at 6 am to attend gym classes before commuting in to an office job 5x/week (or myself that is at least), but there’s is something nice about putting on “normal” pants again. And where our version of “normal” will forever be changed by this experience, it will also blossom some new habits that will one day be deemed insane again for future generations to come.

Working from home will loose it’s luster, just as the office has once done. But going back to the way things were before doesn’t seem right either. Figuring out a way to co-exist between our busy lives and our newly found sense of calm will take some time, but maybe it’s better if we just accept that change is only inevitable and embrace whatever is next.