2 More Weeks Of Lockdown!

So lockdown is extended with a further 2 weeks.

Herewith a lesson to self. If you too find a lesson here, so be it.

It contains colourful language because this is a colourful time.

People are freaking out, people are in shock, people are pretending to be calm, people are acting tough, people are singing praises of leaders even as they sink into an economic quagmire, people are swearing at governments, people are swearing at the virus, people are crying, people are stolidly trying to keep their heads up, people are praying, people are swearing, people are moody, people are heartbroken, people are trying to figure out how to rescue a business, people are trying to figure out which staff to lay off or to offer paycuts to or how to tell them there won't be a business to go back to, people are desperately trying to find and cling to any real or perceived silver lining in the dark cloud, people are cracking jokes because humour is a proven mood lifter.

You can choose which one you are.

We are all just trying to deal with this shit in our own ways. It is new and uncertain and strange for everybody. There is simply no existing guideline specifically for this mess.

What we all need to do, is realize that not everybody will react the way you want them to, or logically, or calmly. And for multiple reasons that you do not have insight in, nor understand.

We just need to understand now that basically everbody is feeling more or less as lost as we are, and trying to cope with the emotional impact as best they can. Some handle it better and easier than others. It has always been thus.

We need to get off our high horses just for a bit, and stop groinkicking those who are not responding in ways we would want them to. You do not know their situation, so just take a deep breath and back the fuck down, Lone Ranger.

If you cannot find empathy for others within yourself, even in a time such as this, then maybe you need to take the extra time for introspection.

Focus on your own mess and let others try to sort their lives out, even if it means they are acting out in ways you hate.

We are indeed not all equal before calamity.

Life just rolls like that.

We cannot even go give someone in dire need of it, a hug. We have to try and show them we care from a distance. Try to imagine how just this fact is freaking a lot of people out, myself included. Because we are the hugging type and this distance shit is a bummer.

Try to breathe deeply and rather be supportive instead. If you cannot, then try to just ignore and move on by.

This is not as easy as it may sound. But do it anyway.

This mess is bigger than all of us.

We need to at least try to act accordingly.

Riaan Coetzee
Copyright
10 April 2020