03/16/2020
Outdoors activities provide a potential distraction to coronavirus crisis
Getting outside and being active gives us a brief distraction however does not change the fact the coronavirus has infiltrated and disrupted almost every aspect of our lives. The fact is it is likely to get worse before it gets better, and it will be with us for a while.
Understandably, people are very worried about the future course this global pandemic will take and about our collective response to it.
Daily updates on this pandemic twists my insides up, with the hardest part being not knowing when it will end or the toll it will take on my business and the economy generally.
However, history has made clear that fear breeds fear, misinformation feeds misinformation, panic spreads panic. Anxiety and apprehension are normal responses to stress, reactions genetically built into us as coping and survival mechanizes.
Each of us handle stress differently. I try and exercise regularly and try to stay busy. The trick is to not freak out. When you’re irrational you make bad decisions, which compound a bad situation.
Social distancing and state of emergency protocols are the new normal for at least the next several weeks. Disruptive? No doubt. Frightening? Yes. But necessary to slow the transmission of this disease to hopefully get a handle on it and save lives.
As long as I’m healthy and it doesn’t put myself or others at risk, or violate any emergency protocols, I still plan on spending time outdoors. I plan on cross country skiing (its still fabulous in the north), hiking, and going for back country road drives. And I’ll wash my hands often, humming the alphabet song!