Wednesday is here, a cold Wednesday morning with another overnight frost here on the Canadian prairies. It began with a bit of sunshine which has now been banished behind some grey clouds. It is a good morning to stay inside for coffee and breakfast. The forecast is for some moderation in temperature with a high of 14 Celsius by late afternoon. There is no question that summer is done. Still, there will be sunny and warmish days ahead for me to enjoy outdoors, even while nude. It’s all a matter of acclimatising to the seasons. By the time winter is here, I will likely find that -5 Celsius will be pleasant enough for some outdoor time while nude, especially if I am busy shovelling snow.
Acclimation is the process of adjusting to new conditions such as we are facing in a world that is reeling from a pandemic. The latest news tells us that no vaccine is in the near future, a fact that forces us to come to grips with living with the coronavirus. Some of us live in”bubbles” or so we believe. The people in my town believe there are in such a bubble as no one here has had Covid19. They feel safe and basically take risks within the community because of that risk. Yet, in a modern world which includes my town, there are no isolated bubbles of safety. Too many people leave the town for all sorts of good reasons, including myself.
Though we think we are immune, our psyche tells us otherwise. We respond to that unconscious knowledge typically in two ways. We deny the fact of our vulnerability, even if it means we have to deny the threat. Covid19 deniers and anti-maskers are examples of this response to the unconscious. Logic has no room in any discussion that confronts this type of response. On the opposite pole, we have those that fearfully embrace solitary confinement. Thankfully, most of us are somewhere in the middle ground, listening to science which tells us to “limit” our risks and the risk to others by wearing a mask when in situations where we are close to others.
Maintaining social distance is not about going into isolation, but simply acknowledging that a safe space of about two metres is all that is needed, especially if we wear masks when we are unsure about the people who we come into contact with as we leave our immediate social bubble. Of course, you, my readers already know this. What we don’t often realise is that when we are out of our immediate social bubble and when we are easily able to maintain social distance, such as when out walking in a park, or at a beach, or somewhere out in nature, we don’t need to continuously wear a mask.
I don’t wear a mask when hiking in the hills or in the backyard. Neither do I wear clothing. That all changes when I am in the presence of others. If distance is maintained, the mask is kept handy but the clothing remains on my body. It’s all about common sense. However, as each of us is learning, common sense is a rare trait in humans. Of course, there are no guarantees as what we “know” is not all that much. The best we can do is the best that we can do as we acclimate to the world that is constantly changing.