Adaptation or evolution?

How will these times define us?

Everyone everywhere is using the phrase "the new normal". An oxymoron in itself but we won't dwell on that too much. Due to the global pandemic that we are in the midst of right now, almost everything about the way we go about our lives has changed and more is in the process of changing.

What I'm trying to decide is this: are we simply adapting to meet the current needs as a temporary measure or are we evolving in the way we do so many everyday things that we are unlikely to go back to how things were before Covid-19 struck?

I'm inclined to argue the former at this point (perhaps with a dash of evolution thrown in for good measure). Society has had innumerable changes imposed upon it as a result of the pandemic. We are twelve weeks into restrictions and we still see complaints that certain aspects of the guidance are not being followed by so many. Add to that the fundamentally unnatural perspective to much of what we are living with at the moment, and I think you see why I think these will remain temporary measures.

Not being able to visit family is not natural. Not being able to hug a friend or relative, be it in celebration or comfort, is not natural. Having to walk around a shop in a particular direction is not natural (this even annoys me in usual times when I dare to visit IKEA).

While I don't think these adapted ways of living will stick, I am of the opinion that we will be defined by them in years to come in more subtle ways. One thing that will define how I get back to normal is how I organise my social life. Previously, I would feel obliged to see friends and family on a regular basis, and accept any and all invitations sent my way for fear of being deemed rude if I declined. This period of lockdown and no question of a social invite has made me appreciate that I need to be selfish, as it were, a little more often. Occasionally, I think I'll need to create a weekend bubble of me and the husband, just appreciating that we have each other, with no schedule or time limits to whatever we choose to do with that time together. A friend of mine has said how they don't want to go back to the hustle and bustle of their social life as it was, feeling unable to tell family to stay away when they come round to see the kids etc. My friend wants to have time just as a small family unit. Yet at the same time, she's a bit apprehensive at how that might go down with the family and friends.

I guess only time will tell whether we are adapting or evolving. I suppose there is an element of evolution in there for some of us, but I'm quietly confident that for the majority of the population, a period of adaptation is slowly but surely coming to an end as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Oh, and please let's stop using the term "new normal". It's a horrendous phrase. What the phrase refers to is a new method. This new method may become normal behaviour and action over time. But none of this is normal yet. It is merely new.

Be kind. Stay safe.