How's everyone doing in 2020? ☺
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| *Me looking pretty happy after some wider human contact last week* |
Remember all the hype about the 'perfect vision' for 2020 before we hit the year running?
I don't think 2020 turned out quite the way any of us hoped especially here in the UK
Firstly, the UK has been floating around in a little self-inflicted unclaimed bubble through 2019 and on into the 'new' year, due to be fully untethered from our nearest landmass - Europe -without a cohesive plan for when that happens (still under negotiation)
That was isolation number 1
But hot on it's heels came isolation number 2 and it's a big worldwide affair - COVID
All those movies we've watched and said 'but remember it's not real life'? Right now it is
'Plagues' of one kind or another are very much a part of real life. Extremes of being are the new normal. Yes humans are inherently adaptable (we have a strong survival instinct) but our increasingly planned and connected lives have suddenly come up against a bit of a wall, a big one
Instead of constantly forging ahead with conquering the planet will all of us finally understand that it really is past time we should be partners with it. It is surely time to stop and assess proactively rather than via damage control
If there's one good thing to come out of all this it's just that - but I'm talking time to assess on a smaller, closer to home level
During lockdown we've been marooned with ourselves and those that live in our immediate space and that's been an enlightening thing. Time to appreciate what we have if we are lucky enough to have a place to call home. Time to look at the detail of our surroundings (the sky without vapour trails) and to rediscover our numbed senses whilst we assess
There's been time for fear and what ifs too but also time to notice what is important to us on a basic human level
We know this won't go away overnight and that there's no quickfire solution, but we are adapting and it's so good to appreciate the things we have perhaps taken for granted. To take time to stop and breathe (during lockdown fresher air without the traffic fumes). To make the most of what we have here and now
In 2020 more than ever home has very much become a tether point for each and every one of us who are fortunate enough to have a place to call home
We've realised we need contact and that we can still connect - albeit not with so many of those wonderful hugs or physical gestures (our smiles often remain covered out and about) - but through the technology we have created. It's been so wonderful to connect and share experiences of the past months with people across the globe. There's a sense of wonderment and gratitude over the smallest human contact that is heartwarming
Outside my own sphere of home, I have missed the wider contact with the Design community that usually comes with the gatherings at design fairs throughout the year. The recent Designscape was an enlivening breath of fresh air - an online platform to meet and connect and share experiences with a view to the future and what that holds
Let's keep connecting in whatever way we can - a little *humanity can go a long way
*noun, plural hu·man·i·ties.
all human beings collectively; the human race; humankind
the quality or condition of being human; human nature
the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence
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