Day Twenty of ORCA in Switzerland – An Island of Tranquility

Today I went on my daily walk and found an island of tranquility. Instead of walking in one direction I reversed it. In doing so I saw the river from another point of view. I was on a trail and saw that I could get down to the riverbed and did. I saw a tree lying from one bank to the other and I thought, "Look, a bridge" but of course I didn't cross it because I'd have fallen in.

Today's walk was shorter than usual and there are two reasons for it. The first is that I've walked the routes so many times over the last three summers that I'm in need of a change. The second reason is that today it was warm, it's a Saturday, and it's warm.

All of these factors meant that people were motivated to go out for a walk. When too many people go out during a pandemic the challenge of not walking within three meters is more pronounced.

As I got close to home, and saw how many people were walking I thought that the last four hundred meters would be really challenging. I thought I would have to find a quiet spot and watch for a gap in pedestrian traffic before I could walk home. Luckily that fear stayed theoretical.

I had planned to ride the bike indoors when I got home but then I got distracted with the need to work on a motivation letter but this was interrupted by a phone call and now it's time for dinner and I have to write the blog post first.

I want to keep my daily routine up. I want to keep discipline. I also want to be ready for when life gets back to normal. I want to know that I set daily goals and I reach them consistently for weeks or months at a time. I am on day 208 of my German practice streak for example.

"COVID-19", as people have been saying, "is not a holiday. It's a pandemic. Stay home, and self-isolate." Did you notice the shift from "social isolation" to "self-isolation". I prefer the second term. I am self-isolating. I am keeping myself company, and at the end of the day, after having conversations via whatsapp or other apps I have a conversation with myself, in the form of writing. By the end of my "write a blog post task" I feel rested and relaxed, and I often feel my mood lift. It's serving me well.

Now I can prepare dinner.