Remembering how to be social again after so long...

Do you remember when we could only mix with people in our own household for months on end back in 2020?  And we couldn't sit on a bench outdoors and have a chat or a picnic. Sometimes I forget all of these strange, necessary restrictions now that we are back to some kind of normal.  Yet each time I take a step to try something that I've not done for two years I know that I feel different.  This week I wondered why I was getting in a flap about taking a train for the first time and then eating inside a restaurant later?  Because a) we still have covid around b) being highly sensitive means things seems so noisy and intense and c) it just feels strange after all this time.

But I keep telling myself that things are better now.  Even though I personally enjoyed the quiet with less social expectations for the last two years, I can also see that it has not been good for society and communities as a whole.  We are social creatures and we need a sense of community with caring people for our well-being.  Having watched snippets of Glastonbury festival recently thinking how happy and relaxed people look to be finally able to enjoy music with thousands of others, I almost yearned for that myself.  Wouldn't that feel amazing to being able to sing, cheer and dance for hours to let out all the pent-up energy and stress of the last two years?

Luckily at the weekend Whitstable had its own tiny, weeny version of this, named "Hutstock".  Organised by a neighbour, it is very low-key and consists of diverse music groups performing at the front of a beach hut.  This popular event had not run since 2019, so to see it spring back to life was great.  My own beach hut is nearby, which meant we had a perfect place to get some shade, drink cool drinks and see people that we hadn't seen for ages.  As friends came and went, I realised that I'd forgotten about life's concerns and looked almost as relaxed as those happy Glastonbury folk. 

The following day was another community event which, if perfectly honest, is much more my thing than crowds and loud music... visiting gardens.  As part of the National Open Garden Scheme, a number of local residents agree to let people visit their lovingly tended garden.  We knew two couples who were participating and had spent many hours getting their gardens ready.  As we wandered around Whitstable, we saw a colourful array of plants landscaped in such small gardens.  What was equally nourishing was the sense of community once again.  As we bumped into people and chatted to keen gardeners, I felt enlivened being with like-minded souls who love nature as much me.

Unfortunately, with more social mixing, it is inevitable that covid cases are rising again with the latest Omicron variants.  And knowing a number of people currently ill with covid for the first or second time, I get moments of concern that I'm being too relaxed about things now?  But with so much challenge around us right now, including political chaos, energy and inflation crisis, Brexit plus the devastation in Ukraine, we need the company of others more than ever. So maybe it's more than okay to allow the sunshine, the community around us, music and peaceful gardens to revive us as we carry on in difficult times.

"There can be no peace and ultimately no life without community" (Brene Brown).

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