Institutionally, we're starting to see lots of "opening up" around the world. In the United States, businesses are sending out their new plans in e-mails/newsletters. YouTube is recommending "online therapy" and stuff to try to keep the population okay enough until locked-down times end ¹. We are seeing some major signs of turning tides with respect to policy. As for the science/biology about what is actually going on with COVID-19, I have no idea.

As summer arrives in sunny California, we are seeing longer days. Soon, people around the Northern hemisphere will be flipping on their air conditioning units ². Maybe as the weather heats up, people will become content with staying in (so long as finances are taken care of)?

Some how, in some way, people are hanging on. Many have accepted locked-in life as the "new normal". Others wait in anticipation for rules to change and then automatically exploit any loopholes they can to still be "well behaved" citizens ³.

The Hope of Risk Free Returns

In the past few months, we've seen a preference for security and risk-free returns. That is, people would rather have a lock down and keep things more "safe" rather than facing the dangerous unknown. We're seeing a shift away from this as lock-down policies are wearing people down.

Guaranteed "Side Effects" to Avoid Possible "Main Effects"

What I see happening is a general shift towards reacting to known side-effects (economic problems), away from responding to unknown main effects (the actual dangers of COVID-19).

Stopping work for a week or two is something most working people can do, especially if they are still getting paid and/or can work remotely. However, as companies have begun laying off more and more employees (especially small businesses, who don't make enough money to 'weather the storm'), we are seeing more agitation to end lock-down policies and "open up" society again.

People are feeling the real costs of lock-down. If you do things like fasting and make doing nothing a sport (meditating), you are probably OK during lock down. For those that don't have some kind of "minimalism" as a hobby, times are tough.

Efforts to get everyone to shut up, behave, and honor essential workers as heroes are getting tiresome as people find themselves regulated into powerlessness.

Finding Your Own Risk Free Returns

My own strategy approaching the challenges of lock-in is to look for places where my own effort input has an effect. There are many realms where there are basically risk-free returns, e.g. doing pushups. Assuming you don't totally overdo it, the more pushups you do, the more fit you will become ⁴.

Having projects like (1) completing reading books, (2) working through problems/exercises, (3) establishing regular contact with friends/family members, (4) maintaining a garden, and (5) acquiring proficiency in a foreign language, require continued application of concentrated efforts. The remedy for feeling like you are doing nothing is to do something.

What I know I will see is that once all this lock-down business is over, I will emerge as a better person in many ways because I have dedicated myself to some projects during these trying times.

The Warrior in Waiting

There are many jobs where making good use of time while waiting is what is most important. Firefighters and samurai both do not spend most of their time putting out fires and slicing up enemies, respectively. Rather, most of their time is spent preparing and training so when critical encounters do happen, they are well-poised to respond with utmost efficiency.

It is our turn to live the way of the warrior and use our time to prepare. When lock down policies sufficiently loosen up, it will be our turn again to apply for jobs, climb mountains, go on dates, etc. Until then, we train like a hardworking choo-choo ⁵.