Three Days.

Lockdown Rant Is Go.

I’m trying to do my writing exercises but I just can’t do it today. I’m feeling so flat and gross. To top it all off I have a massive cold sore that can thankfully be completely covered by the masks all those living in Greater Brisbane are mandated to wear in public at all times until 6pm tomorrow night. Wow, three days of lockdown and you’d think we’d been dealt some kind of fearsome blow, a terrible burden to bear. Yes, I know it could be extended. So be it. Yes, I know it’s “all this for 1 case”. I listened to the Chief Health Officer. I understand.

The way some people are carrying on is mind boggling. Nitpicking over details over the lockdown, mask wearing, keyboard warriors in full force with their snide, sarcastic remarks to complete strangers online. Please, get a life people. This is really how you choose to invest your time and energy? 

We have been so, so spoilt in Queensland. Life has more or less been restored to normal, for a very long time now. We go about our lives with the daily addition of social distancing and ‘checking in’ to every venue we visit. We are so fortunate. We have nothing to be complaining about and so much to be grateful for. Why do so many people seem to be incapable of stepping outside of their own bubble for long enough to see that?

This is exactly why I disengaged from social media in March. The constant barrage of bullshit, ignorance, whingeing and bitching. It stuns me and I am cranky as hell. Sure, there are some disappointments for me and my family to manage but they are so ridiculously minor in the greater scheme of things I can’t even bring myself to name them. People complaining so bitterly about not being able to go on their holidays, with so much venom, so much entitlement. Yes, I’m sure you deserve a holiday. I’m sure it was one of the things getting you through the last year. I’m sure you’re disappointed but please, please, get perspective. Feel upset and disappointed by all means but why whinge and moan about it, we’re in the midst of a global pandemic! The UK and the US are crumbling under the weight of this uncontainable virus. Please, take stock. Get a grip.

I’m not going to cite statistics because, frankly, I don’t know them. The local pharmacist told me the ambos in the UK have been told not to take people to hospital…A friend shared a news clip that 78,508 people in the UK have lost their lives to Covid… I can’t read any more. If I do, if I know too much and am forced to think about it too deeply, I’d struggle to get out of bed, which is what happened back in March. In the interests of protecting my own mental and emotional health, I don’t watch the overseas news, I don’t read about it, I don’t scroll through social media about it. I just can’t go there. 

I know I’m not alone in this. It’s a strange feeling. Caring deeply but not engaging. I know I’m not the only one who can’t help but feel ashamed that they am not better informed, more involved. If you’re one of those people, know that it’s okay. This is hard. For me, even though I know why I choose not to keep myself up to date and knowledgable, the feeling of helplessness is hard to shake.

All I can do right now, today, in my tiny corner of the world, is stay calm, positive, kind and compassionate (even when I’m cranky), follow the mandates of our government with good grace and do my small, but important, bit for our community. 

That is enough right now. If this is all you can do too, it is more than enough.  

Lockdown Rant Over.