Good Friday 10 April:

Watching (or rather re-watching for the nth time) my “Into The Wild” DVD the other day, it acted as a reminder that so many people seem to live such ‘needy’ lives. Relatively speaking, I think Moira and I live quite simple existences - by comparison with so many, we aren’t poor, we do need to live ‘within our means’ and we do have to be careful how we spend our money. We don’t have the ‘luxury’ of being able to help support our daughters’ families financially. We don’t own a car; we don’t go on expensive holidays; we don’t have a second home; we don’t fly (well, at least we haven’t for nearly 4 years); we don’t ‘eat out’ very often; and we don’t live in a huge house with a large garden… But, yes, we do go to the theatre or cinema quite regularly; yes, we do travel by rail when the need arises; yes, we do buy books; yes, we do enjoy our various pastimes (like ceramics and sketching); and yes, I(!) do enjoy my red wine.

Simple living is important for us.

I suspect that, in these difficult times, many of us have been asking ourselves what kind of world we want to see post COVID-19. Many of us seem adamant that we don’t want to witness things going back to the way they were. There seems to be a huge sense that we need to re-prioritise (if that’s a word!) the things that matter. The virus crisis has highlighted so many things… so much kindness shown by others (despite, unfortunately, the minority who have a selfish, ‘me first’ attitude to life); not surprisingly, the pace of life has slowed over the past weeks and people are beginning to acknowledge that, for many of us, that’s been a very positive thing; it’s been interesting to see how pollution levels across the world have dropped dramatically (eg. air quality; the waters of Venice cleaner; distant views of the Himalayas visible etc); why do we need to ‘strive for more’?; why is there so much greed?; why is there so much focus producing even greater profits?; a better appreciation of the importance of family life and relationships… and finding time to enjoy them. Simple pleasures.

In short, we need to come up with a way that promotes the planet and people above profit, whilst still encouraging trade, commerce and free creativity in the way we live work and play.

I’ve noticed that some people have begun to make ‘wish lists’ of things they want to do as soon as the virus crisis comes to an end. It’s been illuminating. I haven’t noticed any of the ‘usual’ bucket list items appearing on people’s agendas (swimming with dolphins and suchlike)… they’re much more focussed on stuff that, in the past, we’ve perhaps taken for granted, such as: hugging family members; meeting up with friends (in a bar/café/restaurant); going to the cinema, theatre etc; visiting a special place you’ve always promised that you’d go to; walking along a beach; walking through a wood or a forest… you get the idea.

The somewhat scary thing for people of my age is the horrible prospect that you might have already missed your last opportunity to do these things… and, suddenly, the depth of the crisis and all its potential consequences and implications hammer firmly home.

(Image: house banner, Redcliffe Parade).