Lockdown, day 1

Lockdown day one. People seem to be more short-tempered than usual. The shops seem to have returned to some semblance of normality. I was able to get bread, cereal and tinned fruit. There was no toilet tissue, though. It was disappointing to see a general lack of awareness of personal space. I wonder how many people will become ill, or even leave this world before their time, due to what seems like either a lack of awareness or a lack of concern.

In small ways, and ways that aren't so small, this situation is likely to affect the mental health of many people. Maybe things will change. Maybe there will be the growing realisation that it is better to act cooperatively, rather than competitively and adversarially. Hopefully it's within us to do that.



Physical exercise is arguably more important than ever. Many of the warnings about going out, and meeting with others, say that we only have to sit on a sofa. That feels more than a little irresponsible. To be fair, a number of personal trainers, yoga instructors, martial artists and others have started putting free lessons online. Could it be that we're starting to see how our fates are intertwined?

This isn't too far removed from my everyday experience. For some, the lack of connection with others, and the absence of the physical presence of friends and acquaintances will be hard. That's something I spend much of my time dealing with. In recent months, it's been something I've chosen to do. There are times when our suffering takes us to dark places, and that darkness may, in turn, cause suffering for others. Maintaining a distance from others, in such circumstances, is an act of kindness, but they may see it as something different.

I've been waiting for an assessment, to see whether something fundamentally different in the structure of my brain has been responsible for difficulties experienced over the course of a lifetime. That meeting is now on hold, of course. In one way, such things are an opportunity - an opportunity to practise acceptance of uncertainty.