<em>This editorial was originally published Monday in the Anderson Herald Bulletin. </em>
As our lives slowly return to what approximates normal in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many of us can’t wait to get back to how things used to be.
Go to “the office” in the morning. Eat lunch out with co-workers. Head home at the end of the day to take kids to practice, ballgames and appointments. Eat out at restaurants a night or two a week. Hang out with family and friends on the weekends. Attend concerts and festivals. Watch a new film in the theater. Shop till you drop at a mall. Eat, sleep and repeat day after day.
And then there are those of us who look at a return to “normal” with a far amount of side-eye.
Not because we don’t want the danger to disappear. But because, amid the social distancing and masking, we’ve found a comfortable place … and more time for the things we actually enjoy.
Time to read books. Time to take walks. Time to paint or sculpt. Time to catch up on your favorite TV show and movies. Time to cook. Time to enjoy that meal with your family. Time to get to know your kids better or rediscover why you fell in love with your partner.
Just because life seems intent on returning to the rat race it was before doesn’t mean you have to leave all of this behind.
Hold onto what’s important in your life. Enjoy doing it. And don’t let anything or anyone discourage you from it.
If you found peace taking a walk each day, stick to it. Give it priority among the hours in your day.
If you want to read a book a week because you need an escape, snuggle into a comfy chair and get lost in the pages. Make it a ritual.
If you want to take two days off to create a four-day weekend to watch 96 straight hours of professional wrestling because it’s the most fun you could ever have, put in for the time. You deserve that feeling.
Find your happy. Lean into it. And let it leave you more fulfilled and at peace than you ever imagined.
<em>Send comments to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</em>
