What if permanent change is the new normal

Trying to get back to feeling vaguely normal is proving to be way more difficult than I’d ever imagined it to be. It appears that we have entered a time of desperate extremes where our hearts are pounding and we are coping to respond to a murky soup of sorrow, loss, disappointment and hope. Just catching up with family and attempting to visit with the grandchildren, even a walk in the park, is now a major logistical exercise. This is absolutely not what I’d expected to be facing when I retired. My mornings seemed to be filled with lingering questions fueled by uncertain emotions: who is responsible for this misfortune thrust upon us, is this just a minor setback or, is this a bitter-pill that I now must take in order to be well again.

Although challenging, it seemed more likely that the bitter-pill was going to work best for me. I’ve decided it’s time to move forward and find what my new normal looks like. It’s not going to be easy. Everywhere I look there is ever-encroaching development, the globalised travel industry has pushed humans into every square inch of the planet and the peace, security and quiet of nature is farther out of reach each and every day. Before my world tipped upside down, I thought nothing of booking a flight to go see my children who live abroad, a quick internet search, a credit card and away I’d go….but in digesting my little pill, I knew that we are set to enter a new era, one not unlike my grandparents had experienced when they emerged from the Great Depression in the 1930s. Everything is about to change. 

Whilst we wait for a vaccine, millions have become infected and hundreds of thousands of people around the globe have died and our savings of course, along with the economy, has tanked. We are in a fragile position and there are a few things we should be considering if we are going to adapt successfully. One thing that is clearly evident is that we are all in this together, continuing to ravage nature can only work for a little while longer, the life in our oceans is fading fast, our forests are disappearing, the earth is shaking and we’ve forgotten that our wealth is based on all of it staying steady.

I must admit, it’s been a very sentimental week, longing for everything to go back to the way it was, certainly takes it out of you. There’s often a silver lining to most problems though, and in the process of considering what a new future normal could possibly look like, I started to pay attention to exactly how things have been unravelling before my eyes and, it’s not a vision that ought to be ignored…it’s at our doorstep.

Let’s take a look at what’s changing in areas that could concern us :

Retirement Villages – many folks head this way for very practical reasons. A suite of common values, ready access to health care, good security and great recreational facilities are all attractive choices. However, what has been unexpected in this pandemic is just how disproportionately ‘aged care’ facilities have been affected by the virus‘. Statistics in the UK and Australia show an alarming number of deaths occurring in these centres with many becoming hot spots for virus transmission which leave older people at greater risk. It has been a common pattern globally for retirees to rush to warmer weather, sunny locations and relaxed lifestyles to enjoy themselves in retirement, but so do thousands of others. This may give some folks cause for reassessment. With a changing climate increasingly affecting many coastal and low lying areas, choosing cooler locations, higher altitudes and in many cases more northerly regions to retire could be something worth considering.

Restricted Borders – no one is going to argue how surprisingly difficult and tough the travel restrictions have been during this long period of isolation. Separation from family has been especially hard and an unnecessary emotional challenge for many of us. When considering our retirement choices into the future it may be prudent to look at settling conveniently closer to family to avoid rapid lockdowns, civil disruptions and distances that can’t be easily crossed. The problem with borders is that they can shut down at the flick of a switch. Sudden restrictions and needing to fly overseas or travel across the country to visit your loved ones can lead to anxiety, frustration, loneliness and depression. Who would ever have thought that these travel restrictions would last so long? Future retirement decisions could be more about easy access to family rather than sunny weather and great beaches.

Hospitals & Health – allowing for a few exceptions, our global hospital systems have struggled to cope during this pandemic. Countries that went into early containment of the virus have fared much better than those that ignored the early warning signs who looked the other way, risking the lives of their own citizens. Regardless of money, health cover or insurance risks we now have the opportunity to do some smart research into which states, which countries and which regions have dealt with this outbreak in a professional, humane and caring way. There are some interesting theories emerging that suggest this pandemic is not going to be an isolated once in a lifetime event, so it would make a whole lot of sense that we choose to retire near a hospital of a suitably higher calibre. The evidence of inept, unequal care and the lack of planning in many facilities should see us all rushing to find the quality we seek and which should now be evident to all.

A problem always stands apart from the one confronting it, whereas a mystery is inseparable from the one who embraces it…….Gabriel Marcel 

Salvation is very much an individual affair, just as you have to eat, drink and go to sleep by yourself we can only rely on that which we experience directly for ourselves to understand life’s larger perspective. We are poised to take up a stronger position, many people simply don’t have this opportunity, so, if we choose to stick our heads up from the confusion and the fear of it all, we may find that the view from up here is very rewarding.