Another lockdown. New rules and regulations and nobody knows what is really going on anymore. Vaccination will be mandatory? Am I still able to decide what is going into my body? I guess not because new rules will be implemented this week. Or next week. Are you depressed? For me, some days are okay and some are super horrible. Today, I will write about how I pull through this madness with humor. Maybe you will find something that works for you as well. If not, see you in the mental institution. I am the one wearing a baseball hat that is mandatory to wear in there.
- The new OMICRON mutation is actually a toy transformer my son has under his bed. I wonder what the “experts” will come up with once they run out of letter of the greek alphabet? They could name the spring 2022 mutation Xi-mutation but it would be kinda weird because that is the name of the Chinese President (Xi Jinping – all the things you learn here, right?!). Well, in any case, we still have some letters left, don’t we!? Also, the next mutation will be from Greece. It’s name will be Feta (just like the cheese but that is just a coincidence).
- Covid-19 and the related lockdowns and all the new mutations have been hard on all of us. I want you to know, it is OK to not be OK.
- If you need to work through your lunch hour, that’s OK.Be glad that you still have a job. In these unprecedented times, your energy levels can really fluctuate, and sometimes you are just more productive if you work straight through lunch and don’t take any breaks. Just remember that it’s OK. I guess, also if you have two 30-minute breaks. If you eat your food like a snake, by detaching your jaw and swallowing your food whole without chewing it. Also, this way, food takes 3-5 days to digest. No need to eat at all for days. Again, be glad to still have a job in these crazy times.
- It’s OK not to schedule any vacation. It can be hard to imagine yourself going on vacation right now with all the travel restrictions, and I don’t want you to feel pressured. If you would feel more comfortable staying in town and working, that’s OK.
- It’s OK to have trouble sleeping. We’re currently experiencing a great deal of anxiety as a culture, so if you’re finding you’re having trouble sleeping, that’s OK.
- If you’d rather knock out a meeting/training instead of eating dinner, that’s OK. The new flexibility that some experience while being in “home office” lets us structure our workday however we like, and if you’d rather conduct a meeting than eat dinner, that’s OK. Or clean your house and your kid’s bedroom.
- If you ever need to skip therapy because of work, it’s OK. Sometimes, it’s better to just take a step back and let your mind focus on something else, like telling people to take off their watch and belt, and that’s OK.
- If you feel like not going to the gym on the weekend and just taking it easy on a conference call on your couch on Sunday afternoon instead, that’s OK. You will be fine. But hey, many can work from home (just not you) which offers that flexibility, and if you want to use that flexibility to take it easy and sit on a three-hour call instead of going to a workout class you had to book six days in advance because everything is at fifty percent capacity, that’s OK! Oh, I forgot, everything is closed because the lockdown has even been extended until 2023. It’s OK to do nothing.
- The state of the world right now can be overwhelming, and if you just feel like lying around and doing nothing after you’ve completed all your work and the work of all your former co-workers that resigned, that’s one thousand percent OK.
- It’s OK to feel too exhausted to think about the future. Things like planning social events with friends, looking for other employment, etc., can be a huge mental drain that, quite frankly, you don’t need right now. If you feel too exhausted to do anything other than just work, we just want you to know that is totally OK.
- It is OK to cry. It is OK to be mad and be miserable. But let it all go, too. I believe there is something good in all this. And even if it is the realization that we do not need most of the things we do and consume and that it is important to get back to the basics. Things that really matter. For me, it is love, silence, family, and to make it as comfortable as possible these days. It is cold outside, my friends. Cuddle up inside. We will get through this lockdown as we did with all the other ones. We are kind of used to it by now, no?! Everything will be okay in the end. We just have to be patient, calm, and strong. Again, just focus on the basics. What do we really need?
