Shopping online still isn't my favourite activity, but some things that aren't stocked locally have to be obtained elsewhere, While we are traveling less outside of town, online seems the way to go. I've come to terms with the imperfections of online grocery orders and curbside pickup. I'd prefer to be in the store, but still avoid this as much as possible. While I've been using e-mail and electronic written communications (like this blog <smile>) for decades, I still find speaking to someone works much better. Telephone, video chat or in person conversations generally yield better results. Seeing body language and hearing vocal inflection helps avoid many of the misunderstandings of written communication. While people may feel overburdened with video conferencing with work and personal meetings these days, it still is better than texting or e-mailing. The flickering screens of electronic devices and computers have become de rigueur over the past months and are likely to be with us into the foreseeable future. Many businesses are moving to 'work from home' models for the longer term. Traveling to see others has been minimized and will be continue for the near future. So, online shopping and video chats need to be accepted as part of daily life.
The changes precipitating the increased reliance on electronic communications are based in risk reduction. Managing known risks has been part of daily life forever. We plug in a kettle and assume we won't be electrocuted. We get in the car expecting to get to the grocery store. We go for a walk thinking we won't encounter something that hurts us. Dealing with the novel corona virus is the new risk in town. We are learning more about what and how it affects us. As more knowledge is gathered, we can alter our daily practices to avoid this new risk. Two things that research repeatedly points to as mitigating factors in spread of the virus are wearing masks and maintaining 2 m (6 ft) distances. This means that what we do each day needs to be altered to reduce this new risk -- wearing masks, washing and sanitizing hands regularly, limiting face to face contact to a small group of people, isolating after travel. Thankfully, we have technology to help us reduce the risks by reducing contact points. It is definitely different -- helpful but different.
The bottom line may be that we feel vulnerable with the new risk and the unknowns involved with it. As we go along, we will begin to understand more about the chances we take in daily activities. There might be further safety measures we adjust to -- learn to accept this new degree of risk in our lives. We aren't so much waiting for a change as we are living through a change. This is the nature of change in our world -- it is a process not a singular event. This older song encompassed the concept for me today. Stay safe. Enjoy!
The Beat Goes On -- Sonny and Cher
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