To think our new normal could be a better way of life?

[Wehttam]

Ok first of all, hear me out. Maybe this is hypothetical fantasy but I think it has merit.

As we are adjusting to Lockdown and both its benefits and disadvantages, I have started thinking about how civilisation may be able to use this as a starting point for a new way of life, accepting the previous 24/7 have it all lifestyle is fundamentally poisonous to our wellbeing.

I fully understand this is a global pandemic and is catastrophic for many people, losing loved ones, suffering illness and the fear of how this could potentially affect many people’s lives going forward economically is a worry no one wants or needs, I am not minimising this nor am I advocating for blanket suffering or pain before you come for me.

Environmentally this is momentarily allowing the planet to slowly recover from one of its biggest problems, Us. Look outside, the air is cleaner already, the noise we had so become used to has quietened, our frantic pace of living has slowed, for most of us this will have untold health benefits as well as benefits to nature we will see manifest further over the coming weeks.

I fully appreciate how for many people this is an uncertain time, those suffering DV or poverty are living in hell, the situation right now is unpeeling the veneer society generally paints over these problems though. What if our new reality was to help those who are vulnerable and suffering but still maintain this level of calm muted living.

Excessive commuting, over consumption of single use anything, traffic everywhere, takeaways, shops, bars clubs, restaurants catering for every niche or whim, flying everywhere incessantly, worrying about having he latest this or that, which all means sweet FA at the moment. What it all boils down to is all of that was needless to actually live and breathe properly wasn’t it?

Eventually once Lockdown starts to be lifted, are you willing to go back to that chaos the outside world had become? I’m not so sure I am and I dont think it will be any good for those who do. Thoughts?

Just look at any previous disaster in history.
Ask those from the 80’s recession who made it to now.

Yes, I want to revise that poem. "And the people stayed home. And read work emails at 7am while referring breakfast, and listened to Peppa, and begged "Mummy is on a phone call, love, I'm so sorry I'll be with you in ten minutes", and tried not to cry while trying to nap their fractious bored toddlers at the same time as texting "PLEASE STOP popping out to Tesco!!!!!" to their elderly mothers, and worried about their families, and got no sleep, and prayed, but not the lovely mindfulness-retreat type of praying you had in mind."

Do some people think this will be like on the tv?
And they all returned home and lived happily ever after?

It depends. I am miserable. Stuck in a flat with no garden, working even harder at a job I already loathe but am now stuck in- with a toddler to try to look after at the same time.

I want to get out. I want to go on holiday. I want to change jobs. I want to move house. I want "stuff"'more than ever as buying all kinds of crap to try to keep the toddler from destroying the house.

Nice idea in theory. In practice, no.

That poem is one of the most saccharine, privileged, uncomfortably middle-class things I've read.

And they all returned home and lived happily ever after?

To be fair, people have returned home and lived happily after following bigger global disruptions than this one. So yes I think life will generally go back to normal for a lot of people, me included. I'm more worried about the ones it won't go back to anything like normal for.

"Normal" whatever that means for anyone doesn't mean happily ever after.

Depending on immunity and vaccines a fairly basic normal is not only not out of the question, but very likely.

Sorry to bang on again, but that Kitty OMeara poem has really irritated me! I can't help noticing that it is 'spiritual people' who keep thinking that we are now all living our time in quiet still contemplation (and loving it!). It's like they want to believe we are all living like that (and loving it!) as some sort of validation of their own life choices.

When in reality, an awful lot of us are living in chaos and frantic busyness, and others are desperately lonely and have far to much effing 'stillness'.

Stop being so bloody insultingly annoying, spiritual people, and start recognising the hard reality many are living.

canigooutyet

You mean like my mother, and my in laws, and numerous other people of that generation who are all like "meh, it'll be fine"?

Sadly I think people will go pretty much straight back to normal. They may add the odd new family tradition that they started during lockdown but it would take several years of a lockdown to change people's attitude towards things long term.

I fully intend on going back to normal, I can't bloody wait until my favourite takeaways and restaurants are open again.

I don't fly though, so won't be doing any international travel.

Can't wait. I don't miss the noise but I do need my routine. I can't wait to get back to Starbucks, the cinema and go places again. I wonder how people will behave at Christmas this year though? Ie more toned down?

It would be nice if we could take this opportunity to review how our whole economy works, and think about moving to a more distributive model. A lot of stuff we don’t need, too few people working too long hours in the necessary jobs for not enough. The usual social, economic and environmental impacts of far too much right wing privatisation and ‘neo-liberal’ thinking as it’s now called.

I didn't read this thread question as "wouldn't life be better if we could stay in these lockdown conditions". Reading it again I can see how people are reading it as that but seriously, even if some lucky people are enjoying this chance to slow down and enjoy the simple life (and I'm happy for them if that's the case) I don't think anyone can seriously be wanting it to stay this way forever.

I took this thread to be asking whether we can find a new normal after all this is over, where people can go out and enjoy trips again, see family and friends but just appreciate it all a bit more and have a newfound realisation of what's really important and what is not.

@cushioncovers why is that sad? Not everyone is privileged enough to actually enjoy lockdown.

Sadly I think people will go pretty much straight back to normal.

Yes, because people need to go back to work!

Obviously it'll be different for everyone depending on circumstances and I'll get accused of living in a privileged fantasy land for saying this, but I can't help hoping that some people realise through all this that they don't need to work so much, that they actually can enjoy a slower pace of life, being there more for their families, even if this means having an older car, a smaller house, an older phone, not so many fancy holidays and meals out. I know this won't be the case for everyone and society as a whole needs to change so employers need to be more flexible, house prices need to be more reasonable.

The older ones not working again is down to their choice of not wanting to transition though

The jobs are there , they just didn’t want them

I speak for my own parents)

That's a sample of two and it may have been true for your parents, but what I saw was skilled middle aged men (yes, mostly men, it was the North in the 80s and early 90s) who had been working since their teens and had been earning enough to buy their homes and support their families were now trying and failing to get entry level jobs in call centres because those employers wanted young staff, or taking courses to learn IT skills useful in the new industries but finding they struggled more than their young co-students because they had 30+ years of pre-conceptions about work they had to unlearn. It wasn't that they didn't want the new jobs, it was that the new jobs didn't want them.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the economy re-made in a gentler, less-consumerist and sustainable model. I just don't think kicking the jobs away from people in the "wrong" industries all at once is going to get us there.

Agreed, on principle. We need either basic income, or the welfare state to be realistic again and provide that safety net for those for whom jobs are simply not there. And they are simply not there, whatever shite stats the government comes out with.

in a privileged fantasy land for saying this, but I can't help hoping that some people realise through all this that they don't need to work so much, that they actually can enjoy a slower pace of life, being there more for their families, even if this means having an older car, a smaller house, an older phone, not so many fancy holidays and meals out

I think the privileged bit comes from thinking that most everyone is having this experience. The only people I know having this experience are the ones who were affluent enough to be able to choose to have a SAHP anyway.

I loathe all this hippy piffle. I can't wait to go to the pub and restaurants and on holiday. I chose a lovely, busy, happy life in a city with lots of socialising as that's what works for me. I never wanted a quiet life, it's not for me.

I’m really hoping we don’t return to the way things were before. I think Justin welby got it right yesterday - we need a new normal - the one we had was so wrong. Yes there will always be people struggling at the fringes of society, any society. But for the people running themselves into the ground to have this or that luxury, to fly multiple times per year, who run round non-stop, buying new clothes to add to the wardrobe of unworn items, who put unnecessary demands on themselves and others I’m hoping this will act as a reset. To change people’s attitudes from me me me! I’m hoping people will review what is important.

Just come back on here to see all the responses, a huge spectrum of opinion and outlooks. I must clarify that I am not speaking from some luxurious country pile with sprawling land and a plethora of opportunity, far from it. It’s a shit time for a lot of people I get that.

I have accepted that life Pre-COVID19 is a thing of the past, it will be a very long time before we are even anywhere near to how things used to be. A simple life without the clutter and constant barrage of sensory overload would be incredible for all of us, and far healthier.

I hope people can accept that this will probably be our new reality for some time to come though. It’s better to do that instead of pining for what we can not have.

Lifeisgenerally absolutely agree, we needed a reset like never before.

@Frompcat
Those are the ones.
And look what happened.
Still won’t happen to them though.