By Arnie Lindberg

Senior's Scene

March, 2021 – A Year of COVID-19

Mar 15, 2021 | 9:50 AM

As I write this, we are now recognizing the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world as we knew it before March 10 of 2020, will not return. The entire planet has been forced into a total adjustment of “how we used to do stuff”.

Our behaviors reflect the restrictions placed upon us to protect us from illness or possibly potential demise.

One of the restrictions has limited the amount of contact we can have with our family, friends and community. Being “locked down” has had a severe impact on our emotional, mental and physical well-being. We need to be reminded that we are a social group of beings, and that we thrive with generous helpings of personal interaction, communication and physical contact. Unwatered plants tend to droop, and so do we without smatterings of human stimulus.

I read an interesting article by Nick Rost Van Tonningen that paralleled my own thoughts. I had taken to standing at the end of my driveway, shovel in hand and waiting for people to walk or drive by. Seeing me in an uncharacteristic working pose, they would invariably stop to chat and ask, “how are things?”

Mission accomplished! I was needing people contact. People who were friends, casual acquaintances or even strangers would stop to chat. People walking their dogs, kids going to school, the Purolator dude, people driving by all would take time to share a little story. They shared a laugh, a moment of time, or just a short casual greeting; all socially distanced of course.

National

Ottawa to remove 30% investment cap for Canadian pension funds

1h ago

Budget woes

Golf and curling centre faces grim season without financial boost

4h ago

Raiders AGM

Raiders impact on Prince Albert local economy continues to go up: AGM report

22h ago

Van Tonningen spoke about the key determinants of longevity having nothing to do with diet, exercise, medical care, smoking or drinking.

He stated that the two main determinants are casual social interactions and close relationships.

He cited a Ted Talk by psychologist Susan Pinker, a Canadian expert based in Montreal. I watched her Talk, and then another presentation by Robert Waldinger who is director of research for a 75-year study of Harvard graduates chronicling determiners of success and well-being.

These researchers agreed that fame, wealth and achievement are not the markers of a “life well lived”, but their highly detailed investigation revealed that the true measure of what makes us truly happy, is the formation and maintaining of good and meaningful relationships. The strong sense of relationships with family, friends and community is paramount in elevating one’s quality of life and contributing to increased longevity. Good close relationships are good for your body and your mind. They state that a good life is built upon good relationships.

When the Covid Rollercoaster finally slows, and the cloud begins to lift, we can again spend some time talking to the mailman, chatting with your favorite front line worker at the grocery store, taking an extra-long walk through your neighborhood and visiting with those along the way, rekindling those relationships that were put on hold during the pandemic.

As those of us who have been through many cycles of the moon, we should make a concerted effort to emphasize to those younger folks the value and importance of building and sustaining your village, to know where you belong and to value those relationships.

The isolation we have endured the past year has caused society to become very introspective and somewhat insular in thinking and relating to others in a healthy manner.

We all need to have an increased awareness of how we recover from the dimness of our social world, and forge ahead with an awareness of those around us who are struggling to gain back a sense of normalcy within our family and our social circle.

Of critical importance is the fact we need to recognize that some wee folks will come out of the cloud not having had much experience with varied social situations. It then becomes even more important that we, as seasoned veterans, help our young people navigate through social situations that will help them to build their own village.

I always am reminded of Robert Fulghum’s advice, in All I Really Need To Know I learned In Kindergarten.

No matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it’s best to hold hands and stick together.

Arne Lindberg is employed on a casual basis with the Department of Adult Education at Polytechnic and is a School Board Trustee with the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division. He is also a member of the Ranch Ehrlo board, the Community Service Center Board, the Joint City/School Board advisory committee, Provincial Public Complaints Commission, and is Notary Public and Marriage Commissioner.

This column is sponsored by MacKenzie Funeral Chapel and Crematorium – Compassionate care and impeccable service.

130 9th St. E, Prince Albert, SK

Phone: (306) 763-8488

https://mackenziechapel.ca/