Are you hitting the COVID wall?
Of course you are. We all are. Our lives have been thrown upside down for almost a year now. Vaccines are on the way, but most of us haven鈥檛 received them yet and there鈥檚 that nagging worry that maybe they鈥檒l be delayed. Many of us have lost jobs, or are feeling lost in our jobs as we endure endless Zooms in our pyjama bottoms. And did I forget to shower again? Sniff test ... yes.
If we are not literally sick of this, we are most definitely figuratively sick of it.
And it doesn鈥檛 help that we are in that early February hell hole. Even pre-pandemic, this was always the least wonderful time of the year. Christmas is a distant memory, the rain never stops, and it feels as if we鈥檒l never see the sun again. What excitement is there on the horizon? And don鈥檛 give me any of that Valentine鈥檚 Day malarkey. Where am I taking my sweetheart on a date this year? The laundry room?
Yet there were politicians and public health officials in B.C. last week telling us we need to 鈥渄o more鈥� to stop the spread of COVID-19. Right.
I know the vast majority of the people reading this column heard that and said: 鈥淲hat? Do ... more!?鈥�
Because we haven鈥檛 partied with our best friends in a year. We haven鈥檛 played a hockey or soccer game in months. Many of us can鈥檛 even hug our mom.
Do more?
Here鈥檚 my counter proposal. Let鈥檚 do less.
And no, I don鈥檛 mean we should stop doing everything within our power to stop the spread of this awful virus. Stay home. Wear a mask. Continue to not open a. You know, all the little things we鈥檝e been doing all along.
And when I say 鈥渄o less鈥� I don鈥檛 mean that we should give up in despair either. We鈥檝e come too far to give up now. Plus, I really want to see how my new Legend of Zelda video game ends. I mean, my kids鈥� new game.
So we鈥檙e not giving up, or giving in. But what should we do right now, with our faces all smushed up against that COVID wall?
This part I want you to read in your best Motivational Speaker Voice. What we need to do right now is 鈥淓mbrace. The. Wall.鈥�
Yes. Embrace the inadequacy we all feel, the malaise, the mediocrity, the blah.
We can鈥檛 hug each other, so let鈥檚 give that COVID wall we just smashed into a big hug. Find a warm spot on the wall, curl up on it and take a nap. Lean up against that wall with a trashy magazine and take a little 鈥渕e鈥� time, acknowledging that it鈥檚 OK to feel very imperfect these days.
Who knows, maybe embracing inadequacy is what will drive us all to new success. It worked for a quiet little Montreal restaurant that was recently. Cuisine AuntDai gained overnight fame after someone took to social media to post photos of their cheeky menu which contained brutally honest evaluations of the restaurant鈥檚 own dishes.
鈥淲e are not 100% satisfied with the flavor now and it will get better really soon,鈥� the menu states about a cold dish called Mouth-Watering Chicken. 鈥淧S: I am surprised that some customers still order this plate.鈥�
The restaurant, of course, has been crazy busy ever since their uninspiring chicken went viral. An honest assessment of an honest effort that honestly could have turned out much better? That sure sounds like where we are right now in this pandemic, doesn鈥檛 it?
Even airline pilots are admitting their fallibility. A recent detailed how a number of pilots, using an anonymous reporting system, have described themselves as being 鈥渞usty鈥� in the air due to a lack of flight hours during the pandemic. If they can come to terms with their pandemic inadequacy, then maybe we all can.
As long as the pilots don鈥檛 literally, you know, 鈥渉it the wall.鈥� Or the mountain or power lines or whatever.
But let鈥檚 allow ourselves to be inadequate. Take time for yourself. Ask for help. Say 鈥渘o鈥� if you need to. Let your husband play Zelda all day. I mean let your kids play Zelda.
You get what I mean. It鈥檚 obvious now that we鈥檙e not going to smash this wall to bits. But I bet we can, ever so slowly, start to nudge it over together.
All we have to do is lean.
Andy Prest is the sports editor of the North Shore News. His lifestyle/humour column runs biweekly. [email protected] 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
