I am a little confused. The feeling is like a consistent slightly baffled state.
To be truthful, I was in that state before the pandemic, but it has been dialed up a notch, or 10. But that’s okay, I’ll give myself a mulligan on this one.
Maybe most of us feel as if we are placed somewhere on the “what the heck is going on” scale. It is a proportional response to this new danger in our immediate environment.
The healthy feeling right now should feel slightly ungrounded, like a nagging, unusual fear. Forgiveness lightens the heavy oxygen and redirects life toward a lighter space in this pandemic’s new atmosphere. These are unusual days, however, not unprecedented.
There is no conspiracy, which includes Bill Gates, 5G networks or Chinese bioweapons. The latter theory is inherently racist, as well. We need to stand up together against some of the more nefarious theories. We are not being manipulated by a deep state and yes, sadly, COVID-19 does exist.
About 10,000 years ago, our human ancestors slowly shifted to an agricultural life from hunting and gathering, which must have seemed like a grand idea at the time. It stabilized our food resources for the cold winters or monsoon seasons in warmer places closer to the equator. However, it also brought us closer together physically and pandemic-type events were added into the mix.
A demanding scientific explanation requires an amount of mental heavy lifting. Some effort must be made in making a solid explanation for a bewildering problem, like the current pandemic.
While giving in to conspiracy theories, or thinking COVID does not exist, is the lazy, effortless path, in the mental sense, the internet is more than willing to fill our minds with calorie absent, contaminated food for thought. Literally, there is as much baseless garbage as we mentally can consume. You only have to stare at the glowing screen and let everything slide down a rabbit hole of bizarre and exotic lies and ideas. The further you go, the harder it is to get out, like being in a cult.
We have to encourage our synapses and neurons to fire cleanly on every cylinder and race around the cerebral cortex to gather good data to assimilate.
Our ancient cousins in human genealogy slept in trees to avoid predation from animals that were a few steps up on the food chain. Think about that when fighting with your blanket-hogging better half in your bed or glaring into your small piece of technology, which contains every book ever written.
The warmer, brighter air and bluer skies offer comforting consistency in troubled times. Trees and plants are reacting to eternally changing seasons, accomplishing the impressive feat of eating sunshine to create a multicoloured, multi-sensual nourishment totally free of charge.
The human family evolved around adapting to the seasons and general threats to staying alive. However, here we are, almost a quarter into a new century and we have to get together and survive to continue life’s circle.
I have found some unexpected pandemic-caused occurrences to be laughable, making my brain reshuffle into a happier state.
Stay tuned
In part two on this topic, I’ll be relating a story that includes an old but reliable 1973 Campion boat, which floated into my life; my front partial dentures; a very professional diver; and how things just worked out despite adversity.
Robert Skender is a Powell River freelance writer and health commentator.
