Indubitably, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on the lives of many people, with economists and scientists endlessly debating about the possible negative impacts on our future selve
However, although Hamlet’s assertion- ‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’- is a manifestation of his angst-ridden solipsism, we can take comfort from Shakespeare in how we can shift our perception in order to salvage some positives from the experiences of the last year or so. 1. ‘Stuff’ doesn’t matter. Apart from obsessively buying e-books, my conspicuous consumption has taken a complete nosedive over the last year or so, much to my frugal husband’s relief. I feel that I have lost my ‘shopping mojo’ and very much doubt that, once I am let loose on the shops again, the allure of John Lewis will never be the same. Indeed, it appears that I can function perfectly well as a human being without possessing the latest Sunday Times- recommended gizmo or the newest ‘edition’ of Trinny London’s BFF Cream. FYI, you probably have to be a woman over the age of 40 to understand the last reference. 2. Less Pollution. I am no expert on environmental science, but even a neophyte like me on all matters ecological can recognise that the lack of global activity may had had a positive effect on our worldwide environment, even temporarily. As most of us have had no choice to do other than ‘stand and stare’ rather than rushing around on endless holidays- guilty as charged- it seems that our ecosystem has benefited from a period of less light pollution, lower air pollution and the absence of lairy youth hitting the nightspots of ‘Marbs’ and leaving their detritus to suffocate the local flora and fauna. Check out a fascinating piece of research from NASA entitled: Environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as observed from space. 3. The resilience of young people. Like all educators, I am very concerned about the impact that lockdowns may be having on the psychological and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. However, in conversation the other day with a parent who specialises in paediatrics, we discussed the sheer resilience of children and how they are infinitely adaptable, much more so than adults. This made me think of just how magnificently all year groups at my school have taken to remote learning again, after encountering it last year, and how they have adapted their learning to accommodate the medium. I don’t want to sound all Panglossian here- it will definitely be the case that there will be many concerns across society when we return back to ‘normal’- but we should also be acknowledging and celebrating how brilliantly, by and large, children have been coping with the strange sort of incarceration they have been asked to endure. 4. The decline of the ‘Influenzas’ (sic). Obviously, I am not part of the of the demographic group that the soi-disant ‘Influencers’ are trying to attract, but one cannot avoid their pointless presence in society per se. Therefore, I have been so pleased to note that there appears to have been a backlash against those social media mavens who decided that a sneaky trip to Dubai was necessary ‘for business purposes’, with other ‘celebrities’ calling them out for their thoughtless hedonism and cloth-eared approach. Who knows, but in our ‘brave new world’ post- lockdown, perhaps such flagrantly outré behaviour might be censured as unseemly and we may never need to see E-list ‘slebs’ flogging ‘Skinny Sprinkles’ ever again?