The pandemic has produced a pressure cooker for the human race. Suddenly in March of 2020 a virus had invaded the United States. There was no cure and at first it was unclear how it spread. The mortality rate was incredibly high, especially for people with high risk factors around age and certain presenting health challenges. Those of us who believed the universe was a friendly place were challenged and the world hunkered down in place. People had the strangest situations ever.
We had a friend that was on the vacation of a lifetime visiting friends and extended family in Spain. The pandemic broke out and the did not get back home for over two years.
We had another friend who was on a cruise. The cruise liner was quarantined and ports refused to let the ship land. The ship was able to pick up supplies but could not go to port. He was on his cruise for over a year and there were some difficult times during the cruise around food and supplying daily needs.
I read the story of a man who visited his girlfriend in New York. She was at her parents house when the quarantine hit. He was in quarantine with her roommate for six months.
Suddenly every concert, every travel tour, every event involving crowds of people shut down. Shopping malls were closed. People could not get out for anything.
In the midst of it all, my immune system continued to be non-existant so it was even more important that I not be in contact with others. We discovered insta-cart and felt so blessed to be able to order food right to our doorstep.
This was a period of time that the norm was thrown out the window. A new norm was coming and we were right in the midst of the transition of the change. There had never been anything like this since the European plague of the middle ages or the outbreak of polio in the United States.
I felt so blessed at how well my wife and I got along, mostlly. The two of us like many others discovered that when human beings end up in a cage day after day some meltdowns will occur. We also got the chance to stretch our communication skills.
It's why I got into construction in the first place. I had run a large company and quit. The temporary agencies that had supplied me with temps were glad to send me out ot jobs. I was offered many jobs in different inducstries.
Then I goat a month long temp job in a construction company. I discovered a field that the end goal will always be achieved - no matter what meltdowns, arguments, or changing of plans occur. It was fascinating and I took to it.
It was my new norm. As we reflect back four short years ago, what is your new norm? What has changed? Notice the winds of change that show up when you aren't looking for them or expecting them.
Comments