Mindset must help recovery
Our individual approach to the Covid19 lockdown could underpin the collective approach to the recovery, writes John Cooney ,of Alexandra.
While celebrating New Year’s less than four months ago who would have resolved to spend at least four weeks locked down at home? Yet here we are, the way to some new normality.
For many people this has been hard, but together we are proving how resilient we are as a community. I can’t use my own experience as evidence. I spent seven of the eight weeks before lockdown working away from home. So the chance to have the first two weeks of lockdown in selfisolation with my wife was a gift. For others there is the very real fear of suffering if infected, challenges living in a household 24/7, or the uncertainty of work after lockdown.
Despite these, the response is remarkable. For us while in selfisolation we could have filled our cupboards many times over with the offers from friends and family to shop for us. Zoom catchups and online coffee dates started and continue now we have graduated to lockdown. We get regular good news memes to lighten up the day and can now wait in queues for food, pleased its autumn not winter.
Within related bubbles, unheard of activity is taking place. One son has ventured into his kitchen producing the warm and welcoming smell of baking. My wife who has never cut with anything larger than a carving knife and never without lipstick, has learned how to swing a chainsaw to cut firewood. We are applying our talents to new tasks and enjoying it.
In the community perspectives have changed profoundly. Travellers being asked to stay away to protect our more vulnerable neighbours, when visitors have been the lifeblood of some economies. While we have always relied on food industry workers, we now have a different appreciation of them. Professionals are playing second fiddle to checkout staff. Difficulties dissolve differences.
Health professionals are being asked to do the extraordinary and deserve our love and support. However, the pointofsale technician is also a posterchild of this time, for the ordinary person. They have taken responsibility. At risk to themselves and their families they agree daily to front up to the
public, to help feed us. Examples of panic buying provide a tiny view of what could happen to our community if these people did not front.
Whats clear from the reduction in daily numbers being infected is how well we are all taking responsibility to do our bit. Whether its health or food service workers on the frontline, friends contacting those we know need company, everyone sharing some smiles or simply keeping to our bubbles, we as a community are in this for each other.
Adapting to this very different life has been swift and almost universal. It has worked so far because we have intuitively used the three properties of community:
A gift mindset: see in people what they have to offer, and don’t compare the value of each gift it doesn’t matter if the firewood is smaller than I would cut, it still keeps us warm
Associations: people working together on things of common interest — we all may worry about how this will affect our livelihood, but as of now we have one focus together and it looks like it’s working
Hospitality: welcoming strangers — signs discouraging visitors may seem contradictory, but this is a community saying we welcome everyone in our community as part of our whanau, please don’t harm them.
Adversity makes us stop. And this is a BIG STOP. It provides space to reflect. We seldom get that in our busy lives. Through our actions (and nonactions) many lives are being saved. Making visible what achieved this, allows us to reapply the recipe to solve other challenges. We have taken responsibility for our actions and each other. We have given our gifts to help others and try new things, worked as one and welcomed others into our care.
Noone wants Covid19, but the antidote is worth understanding and reusing. Kia kaha.
µ You’ll find Voices from philanthropist Sir Eion Edgar and event manager Rae Baker at odt.co.nz/opinion.