Hello, ladies and gents. I was bored before a mid-shift at work and figured now would be a good time to write a blog about life in general. Once again, as if I haven't said it enough, the pandemic is raging. These are the highest record number of new cases and deaths in California and the United States. It's a brutal time. Yet, we still have to find a way to live.
For me, it's mostly been a matter of finding a balance. What is the right balance between personal home life, friends, family, work, and recreation? I talk to a lot of friends, mostly online, but I've found that if you neglect your own personal downtime then you're doing it all wrong, especially during the pandemic.
There is only one good thing about this pandemic. It's given us all lots of more time. Using this time wisely and effectively, we can come to terms with ourselves, our families/friends/co-workers/jobs/goals, and find ourselves. What do you want out of life? What are you doing to achieve that? That is the one good thing about this terrible virus. Use that time wisely and all of a sudden you're happy again and proud of your accomplishments in life, be that as they may.
For me this involves a lot of things; reading, writing, looking for other jobs, talking to lots of friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, and a lot of rest because doing this can be draining. I believe most people don't take advantage of quiet relaxing hobbies like reading and writing because they're used to more easy-to-get gratification. Why read a book when you can play a video game, or watch a TV show? The problem is that those people miss out on a prime way to relax, stimulate the brain without overstimulating it, and enjoy quiet downtime.
At this point in the pandemic, I've probably played more video games in the last four months than in the last year. It's been pretty intense. Likewise, there are people out there who watch more Netflix more and more every day. For myself and them, there's a wicked after effect from this sort of activity, overstimulation, a sort of synaesthesia.
Once you're so used to all the free time and doing everything you want to do all the time, you get lost in the pleasure and overstimulation. Too much of a good thing leads to you going backward. Someone who watches Netflix all day isn't a bad or stupid person, but it will lead them to essentially becoming a couch potato their whole lives. Nobody wants to be the bio-mass, with their beer bellies, trying to find the remote to turn on the next episode.
On another note, it's summertime, gotta get that feeling. Enjoy the outdoors, go to the beach, order great take out.
Life during the pandemic has gone pretty well for me. I took off two months and then almost two months back at work, they gave me minimal hours. That actually worked for me, because at the time I didn't want to work too much because of how small our store is, and people get packed in there like sardines. Lucky for me, I didn't need the money as much as I could have needed it, so I spent a lot of extra free time soul searching. It wasn't until this week, this day exactly, that my hours shot back up to regular hours, meaning, essentially, that a lot of the new hires already quit, got fired, or went back to their old jobs. In addition, I no longer work closing shifts, rather, I work mornings and mid shifts. Howboudah?
I spent a lot of my free time reading, writing, gaming, and talking to friends but there was also a lot of soul searching as well. You learn to come to grips with reality on your own initiative, it's hard to explain but the more you work on it, the more insight you gain about life, yourself, and others. Even if the world is burning all around us, we have to learn to go inside ourselves, and reflect upon peace and love, as hippy and dippy as that sounds.
This isn't easy, and it's much easier said than done, but if you keep pushing yourself, find yourself, you can attain enlightenment and really see the joy in the world.
Gotta get that feeling!
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