Fifteen Benefits of Lockdown

We experience the controls of our respective government over our daily lives that we would not have thought possible in 2019.

Conversation often refers to absence of social freedoms taken for granted for decades.

Time to time, the voice of recognition of certain benefits from lockdown at home emerges. The perception of the situation matters as much as the perceived.

I have listed 15 benefits. One person perceives an event in one way. Another perceives in the opposite way.

For example: Children cannot go to school. Families can spend time together at home sharing daily life together. Plenty of children enjoy being at home. They love the extra time with any siblings and their mum or dad or both. The Government never supports this perception. Other children miss their friends, their class teacher and miss school, despite the pressure to fit in with educational demands.

For example. Many shops remain closed. We see the reduction of consumerism on our high streets. The Earth suffers due to human consumption and exploitation of diminishing resources. We live or choose to live a modest lifestyle since early 2020, different from the previous years. In lockdown, we shop for basic essentials.

The opposite view might arise. Consumerism keeps the economy going. Or, more and more consumers switch to online shopping, swelling the profits of Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, fashion industry, luxury items, gambling, pornography and threatens livelihood of small businesses.

Here are 15 Benefits of Lockdown

1. Families can spend time together sharing in a range of activities to support each other.
2. People spend less time on the high street shopping for goods they do not need.
3. Lockdown gives time for reflection whether at home or taking a single walk in the streets, park or countryside. We can know a contentment with what we have already – including bare necessities.
4. We feel happy to be alive, switch to eat healthy food and slow down. We take care of our homes, know the importance of play and develop new hobbies. Living alone, we learn to enjoy our own company, appreciate the silence and attention to the small details of daily life. We respond to the needs of the poor, hungry families, cramped conditions and painful living circumstances.
5. We increase our appreciation for the outdoors. Sky above. Earth below. We enjoy walking in quiet streets with less pollution from vehicles. We recognise beautiful gardens, birds, flowers and trees. We travel less overseas whether by plane, ship, train or road. Less travel contributes to less CO2 emissions and supports zero carbon emissions. The elite 1% seem far removed from such developments.
6. Lockdown contributes to less use of office space. This opens up the potential in the future for creative centres in the city and towns for events, meetings, programmes and entertainment in former office space. Small businesses can develop and use space left by big stores which have gone bankrupt.
7. We can live mindful and meditative lives focussing on something precious to do every day whether at home or outside our home. Some can work at home in hours that suit and avoid the stress of morning and evening rush hour.
8. To read fiction and non-fiction. If access is available/affordable, we use computers, mobile phone and tablets. We listen to audio books. use Skype, Zoom to connect with others near and far. To access online resources to learn, to cultivate knowledge and insights. To educate ourselves in areas of interest. We never had time before. Lockdown gives time.
9. Exercise finally matters. We bring more oxygen into the lungs and strengthen the muscles that support the lungs, heart and vital organs. We make use of Youtube and follow guidance in video clips. We hear daily about the importance of the immune system. Exercise and diet have an important part to play to reduce weight, blood pressure and vulnerability to infections, diseases and underlying health issues.
10. The oceans, lakes, rivers, air, skies (from around 16,000 planes at any moment in time in the sky before lockdown), forests and wildlife have the opportunity to start making a slow recovery from human abuse of nature.
11. People develop their inner  and outer life. This includes mindfulness, meditation, reflection, creativity, prayer, religious practices, yoga, spiritual sensitivities, and a philosophy of life to include people, animals and the environment.
12. Workaholics have appreciated the massive interruption to their identification around work, work, work. The ending of being a workaholic contributes to finding a vision of life including work but much bigger. As we develop as human beings, we recognise the superficial, shallow and deceptive among influential public figures. We criticise those who ignore lockdown for their selfish ends. We recognise political and corporate leaders obsessed with power, money and control. We have found our voice.
13. We do not take our public servants for granted any more. We experience gratitude to our health workers, staff in homes for the elderly, police, social work of our army, teachers, medical scientists, social services, charities/non-profit, the Arts and more than a million volunteers to support those in real need. We know these organisations and networks form the backbone of our society especially in times of immense sickness. Our heart reaches out to people fighting for their lives and facing death from Covid-19 and other illnesses. We volunteer to serve others, perhaps for the first time in our life.
14. Less use of office space means a reduction in overhead costs. Cities and towns can develop a whole new purpose to go into shopping/office areas for a range of community based creative activities, as well as for household needs.
15. We know we cannot go back to the old. This global pandemic shows humanity our entire species heads towards a global catastrophe. This is a confirmation of it. Let us respond to the benefits of it. Covid-19 provides us with an opportunity to change our way of life. Everybody can contribute to creating a different society expressing empathy, compassion and wisdom. Let us co-operate together to benefit all.

May the lockdown open up our minds

May the lockdown open up our hearts

May the lockdown open us up to love and wisdom.

Photo taken on front door step at home on 25.01.2021 in Totnes, Devon, UK.