Deja Vu All Over Again: Round Three

Hmmm, haven’t we beenhere before?

Lockdown. Stay at Home. Physical distancing. Groceries and medical appointments only. Round three of being handcuffed to our homes. Does that mean third time lucky? I wish I could be that positive. Optimism is a scarce commodity at the moment

Figuring out how to getsome enjoyment out of life for the last year has been akin to assembling amillion piece jigsaw puzzle. Pun intended.

I read today that hottubs sales are booming. Makes sense. If you have to be stuck at home, loungingin a hot tub is not a bad way to go about it. But if you do not have one, goodluck. Orders are backlogged. April 2022 is the delivery date if you order now.

Gardening is alsogrowing rapidly as a hobby – anything from growing tomatoes on your balcony tovolunteering in community gardens. Seed purchases are blossoming with some of the highest sales ever. (Insert your ownpun here.)

I do not own a home so buyinga hot tub or gardening is not in my future. Instead, last night I cooked a bigsteak, which should have provided me with two meals, and gleefully scarfed itdown in one sitting.

We have vaccines nowwhich could be seen as a reason for optimism. But I will confess I am puzzledby all the Facebook posts on the subject. Bookedmy vaccine appointment for Friday! Or the Just got my vaccine shot selfie.

It seems like gettingyour shot is a badge of honour. My apologies if you find this offensive, but I donot see that way. It is either a necessary obligation or a Band-Aid slapped ona problem that should never have unfolded the way it did.

For the record, I had myfirst vaccine shot yesterday and have the paperwork – and the sore arm – toprove it. It also occurred to me that if you wanted to catch COVID-19,amass immunization clinic would be a good place to do so. I have not been inproximity with that many people in quite some time.

On a related note, canwe please cease and desist with the social media posts blaming it all on thebad apples that are not following the letter of the law. Asserting that thecurrent state of affairs is all their fault is naïve, to say the least. Thepost-mortem on the pandemic is yet to come and the causal factors may surpriseyou when they are revealed.

But returning to theinitial discussion, how do we go about squeezing a little pleasure out of lifewhen we are handcuffed to our homes? The trite phrases that got us throughrounds one and two – Be patient, Enjoythe little things, Better times are ahead – are wearing thin.

Perhaps Vietnamese MonkNhat Hanh has the best advice on that question.

Sometimes your joy is the source ofyour smile,

but sometimes your smile can be thesource of your joy.

~  Now Available Onlinefrom Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites ofPassage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is alsothe author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel whichwas a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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