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Going the Distance, Bloggiversary Edition
Mar. 25th, 2020 01:45 pmI first blogged here on March 25 2012, so today is this blog's 8th birthday! While I haven't been blogging every day (sometimes not even every month), I do plan to do so during the Covid19 crisis.
Today I'll discuss some of the vocabulary of the pandemic. Like the various forms of "distancing". Personally I think "physical distancing" and "social distancing" are two slightly different things. So here we go.
"Physical distancing" (as I see it) refers to people actually seeing each other in person, such as when they're out for a walk, and then making a point of not being closer than two metres to each other. It's usually proximity-by-chance; the people may be total strangers to each other or they may be neighbours who know each other either slightly or quite well, or one may be a customer and one may be a grocery store employee. Alternately, it may refer to people who live in the same household but for whatever reason (maybe one has been travelling and the other has not), one of them has tested positive for the virus but the other has not.
"Social distancing", on the other hand, refers to a conscious decision either NOT to see a particular person or people whom you know fairly well or care about OR to refrain from going somewhere in person where you figure there are likely to be lots of other people. So sorry, Dianora, but I don't agree with you that it's not social distancing if you talk to your friends on the phone as opposed to meeting with them in person. Yes, I know the term "social media" has, well, gone viral, but in my book, social media can be pretty antisocial, leading to online bullying, spam and assorted other (anti) social ills!
I'll mention a few other "distancing" terms that may or may not have yet entered popular parlance, but which I certainly find convenient to describe some of the ways I cope with this pandemic.
Mental Distancing - This is a fairly general term. I use it when I want to hide behind my newspaper and just say "yes dear" at appropriate times. In other words, the constant onslaught of news about new developments can be overwhelming if you let it be. I just want to be in my own space for a while and think about something else.
Emotional Distancing - Some of the news is quite dreadful. But there's nothing or not much I can do about it , it doesn't directly affect me or my nearest and dearest and I'll hear about it when I get the news at 6:00 so for now, I'm tuning it out.
Psychic distancing - I haven't worked out a very precise definition yet. It's more specific than mental distancing and possibly includes some aspects of emotional distancing. It might include meditating, listening to music, clearing out a closet, reading an escapist novel and much, much more!
Then of course there's "distance learning". There's a term that's been with us for quite a while, since long before this pandemic struck. But it's even more important now. Schools are closed and kids and adults alike are getting a lot of their schooling from online sources. A major bone of contention in the Ontario teachers' labour dispute was Ford's and Lecce's decision to make online courses mandatory for high school graduation. Teachers, parents and students were opposed to having it as a requirement - and in fairness, they probably still are and with good reason - but now they're clamouring for them!
In yesterday's blog, I mentioned "being absent in the moment" as a way of coping, an obvious (and admittedly rather cheesy) reversal of "being present in the moment". To this I'll today add "mindlessness" (as opposed to mindfulness). Just to be clear, I'm not for one minute suggesting that we should bury our heads in the sand and pretend this emergency doesn't exist. I'm simply saying that no one can be "on" all the time - we all need a break from a constant barrage of bad news!
OK, one more thing. Remember the "Stop, drop and roll" thing? I think it was the advice given to parents when you find your kid has been playing with matches and has set themself on fire. You would get them to immediately STOP, drop down on the rug and then either they'd roll across it or you'd roll them up in it and thereby hopefully extinguish the fire. Well, that has a relevance during Covid 19 too. Instead of always requiring a signature, many Canada Post and other delivery people are simply stopping their truck, ringing the doorbell or knocking, dropping off the parcel and getting rolling again. This process might also remind you of the days when kids would ring your doorbell and then run away - just for fun, mischievous as kids sometimes are.
Today I've been doing laundry, since off-peak hydro rates are now in effect all day in Ontario. I'm still not a fan of Doug Ford's government but some issues do transcend party politics and I think he's on the right track in this case. I'm still figuring out what projects to tackle while we're confined to quarters and no doubt there'll be plenty of fodder for future blog entries!
Today I'll discuss some of the vocabulary of the pandemic. Like the various forms of "distancing". Personally I think "physical distancing" and "social distancing" are two slightly different things. So here we go.
"Physical distancing" (as I see it) refers to people actually seeing each other in person, such as when they're out for a walk, and then making a point of not being closer than two metres to each other. It's usually proximity-by-chance; the people may be total strangers to each other or they may be neighbours who know each other either slightly or quite well, or one may be a customer and one may be a grocery store employee. Alternately, it may refer to people who live in the same household but for whatever reason (maybe one has been travelling and the other has not), one of them has tested positive for the virus but the other has not.
"Social distancing", on the other hand, refers to a conscious decision either NOT to see a particular person or people whom you know fairly well or care about OR to refrain from going somewhere in person where you figure there are likely to be lots of other people. So sorry, Dianora, but I don't agree with you that it's not social distancing if you talk to your friends on the phone as opposed to meeting with them in person. Yes, I know the term "social media" has, well, gone viral, but in my book, social media can be pretty antisocial, leading to online bullying, spam and assorted other (anti) social ills!
I'll mention a few other "distancing" terms that may or may not have yet entered popular parlance, but which I certainly find convenient to describe some of the ways I cope with this pandemic.
Mental Distancing - This is a fairly general term. I use it when I want to hide behind my newspaper and just say "yes dear" at appropriate times. In other words, the constant onslaught of news about new developments can be overwhelming if you let it be. I just want to be in my own space for a while and think about something else.
Emotional Distancing - Some of the news is quite dreadful. But there's nothing or not much I can do about it , it doesn't directly affect me or my nearest and dearest and I'll hear about it when I get the news at 6:00 so for now, I'm tuning it out.
Psychic distancing - I haven't worked out a very precise definition yet. It's more specific than mental distancing and possibly includes some aspects of emotional distancing. It might include meditating, listening to music, clearing out a closet, reading an escapist novel and much, much more!
Then of course there's "distance learning". There's a term that's been with us for quite a while, since long before this pandemic struck. But it's even more important now. Schools are closed and kids and adults alike are getting a lot of their schooling from online sources. A major bone of contention in the Ontario teachers' labour dispute was Ford's and Lecce's decision to make online courses mandatory for high school graduation. Teachers, parents and students were opposed to having it as a requirement - and in fairness, they probably still are and with good reason - but now they're clamouring for them!
In yesterday's blog, I mentioned "being absent in the moment" as a way of coping, an obvious (and admittedly rather cheesy) reversal of "being present in the moment". To this I'll today add "mindlessness" (as opposed to mindfulness). Just to be clear, I'm not for one minute suggesting that we should bury our heads in the sand and pretend this emergency doesn't exist. I'm simply saying that no one can be "on" all the time - we all need a break from a constant barrage of bad news!
OK, one more thing. Remember the "Stop, drop and roll" thing? I think it was the advice given to parents when you find your kid has been playing with matches and has set themself on fire. You would get them to immediately STOP, drop down on the rug and then either they'd roll across it or you'd roll them up in it and thereby hopefully extinguish the fire. Well, that has a relevance during Covid 19 too. Instead of always requiring a signature, many Canada Post and other delivery people are simply stopping their truck, ringing the doorbell or knocking, dropping off the parcel and getting rolling again. This process might also remind you of the days when kids would ring your doorbell and then run away - just for fun, mischievous as kids sometimes are.
Today I've been doing laundry, since off-peak hydro rates are now in effect all day in Ontario. I'm still not a fan of Doug Ford's government but some issues do transcend party politics and I think he's on the right track in this case. I'm still figuring out what projects to tackle while we're confined to quarters and no doubt there'll be plenty of fodder for future blog entries!
