Why We Must Not Rush Back To Familiarity

There is undoubtedly great anticipation this weekend as people raise their weary heads, whether freshly trimmed and styled, or sporting the remnants of their last DIY lockdown buzz cut.

After four long months, the world of gyms and other recreational past times finally begins to open again, and I for one am ecstatic at the thought of heading back there, even if my last thirty years of attendance has been a strictly casual affair.

But through the shrieks of excitement, and the crashing sound of resistance bands and yoga mats being tossed into the trash, I still hear all around me that familiar chant:

“Things are finally getting back to normal!”.

Nope.

People are still struggling to get it.

You see, when we previously crammed ourselves into local gyms and sports halls, jostling for towel hooks, scrolling through iTunes whilst reclining on the only preacher-curl station, leaving a “cheeky” sweat stain on the rower — and dear Lord let’s not go into “Hot Zumba” classes — that was normal.

Then, when we were told not to meet up with friends or family in groups, and the majority of exercising options closed - gyms, sports clubs and even outdoor play areas all became out of bounds; many of us fell into the broad groups of dog walker, jogger or cyclist to remain active and sociable (much, I’m sure, to the disdain of the remaining drivers on the road). We naturally focused on what we couldn’t have, and made inroads to scramble back to it.

And that was normal.

larger supermarkets and online shops quickly found their shelves empty of sports equipment available for “home exercise”.

Internal door frames became increasingly worn, with the introduction of standard or improvised pull up bars. Garages became shadow-boxing rings. Balconies became relay tracks.

Queues for the garden trampoline became more regimented, though a blatant disregard for weight restrictions also became apparent.

We learnt how to keep busy, keep active and above all keep outside, in our clandestine acts of vengeance at not being able to feel guilty about the gym membership you forgot you had, that you hadn’t used, but had to keep.

We tried, we learned and we adapted to a new way of life, while these elements of our previous, privileged life hung out the “Back in 5 minutes” sign and promptly went on holiday for a few months.

These are valuable lessons.

We are an incredible, intuitive and innovative species, much better at adapting to thrive than we allow ourselves credit for. And that is what we have been doing, and will continue to do.

We’ve encountered an unprecedented threat in our time, we’ve finally grasped awareness of it, and adjusted our lives accordingly, to minimize disruption.

And we will continue to adjust.

So before we cast aside that recent rise in awareness, those routines or newly formed habits to “Get by until things return to normal”, whether that be alternative exercise, Zoom meetings, home schooling, disinfecting like we’re entering an ICU ward — think about this;

That’s evolution.

That’s normal.

Related posts:

I hope everyone has had a wonderful first three weeks of the new year. I have to admit, things have gotten a little crazy for me. If you have stumbled across my page and decided to subscribe — Hello…

Although Dave began tattooing traditional and flash tattoos, he is now very widely known for his superb black work and personal style. His first time picking up a tattoo machine was 16, Dave finished…

Do you get distracted very easily and sometimes act without thinking? Or do all these things happen very often, not occasionally? If you said yes to most of them, then you might be dealing with…