LOCKDOWN: Instead of filling all those extra hours with endless productivity, Nick Stark recommends going back to basics and embracing a ‘less is more’ philosophy.
FOR MANY of us, the initial response to the start of the Covid-19 lockdown last spring was that we should use the time productively. Didn’t being stuck at home mean we could FINALLY learn to play the piano? Or learn to speak Italian? Or finally read the collected works of Charles Dickens? Or learn how to bake/brew/cook Thai food and so on?
Living in America we seem to absorb the ‘importance’ of productivity with the air we breathe. But almost a year on, many of us are going the opposite way. Indeed one of the few benefits of this very trying time seems to been the dawning realization that less truly can be more. That we can use this (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime pandemic to slow down, to simplify, to pare down our needs and expectations and focus on what is truly important.
Living in the beautiful Golden State, many of us are lucky enough to have gorgeous hiking trails and stunning vistas within a short drive. So when we need to empty our minds, enjoy a contemplative stroll AND get some good cardio work in, we can simply drive (or bike) to the nearest trailhead. I’m lucky enough to live very close to the beach and so I used to be a regular at Gold’s Gym in Venice and several of the nearby yoga studios. But with everything now closed I’ve been forced (!) to get out on my bicycle and enjoy the trail that lines the beach. I can head north towards Malibu or south towards Redondo and the views and vibes are always superb. I can also enjoy socially distanced alfresco yoga and workouts from local providers including DMN8 (dmn8.com) and Shefa Yoga (shefayogavenice.com). There are a myriad of other providers across Los Angeles that offer similar programs at parks or via zoom meetings. And once you’ve enjoyed a bit of downward facing dog amid the lengthening shadows as the sun sinks into the Pacific, the sweaty, noisy, hard-rock soundtracked world of your local gym doesn’t seem half so appealing.
As always the internet has sprouted a zillion solutions to our changed world, with meditation apps such as Calm, Headspace and Wake Up providing guidance and mindfulness. I use Calm every day with my morning coffee, although I’m also a fan of Headspace, founded by Venice-based Brit Andy Puddicombe, an author, public speaker and teacher of meditation and mindfulness.
Another enterprising Briton who is making hay out of the lockdown is Joe Wicks, (pictured, below) better known as The Body Coach, whose YouTube fitness channel has exploded since the lockdown, earning Joe a worldwide following (and an MBE). Joe’s fitness method uses short intense High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts. Starting off by posting 15-second recipe videos on social media, Wicks grew his brand to become one of the most followed fitness accounts on the web. The great thing about Joe is that he does the workouts along with the viewers, and he’s about as far from an intimidating fitness god as you can imagine. He’s the first to let out moans of pain and exhaustion while he coaxes us along, giving us the vibe that we’re not working out with a drill instructor, but a mate who lives down the street.
The point being of course that we can have as much simplicity (or as little) as we need. Apps might be a technological solution but they can still take us to a far less techy place. We don’t need a gym, we just need a smart phone and our own body weight. And if we want, we can just ditch the phone simply take out our bike and enjoy a sunset. Or even rely on a simple pair of trainers or hiking boots to do the same.
A wise man once wrote words to the effect of: every trial is a gift in disguise. And I certainly feel this is true of Covid-19. Personally speaking being able to slow down, be thankful and simplify my life certainly feels like a gift. And I’m sure the best is yet to come – the gift of normal life returning, which for most of us will feel like something we should savor every day for a very long time indeed. Which means perhaps Covid-19 will have forced us into a healthier mindset than we had before. How’s that for irony?
In closing I will share a simple parable I found online from an English priest extolling the virtues of simplicity. I hope they resonate with you.
A tourist stops at the home of the great Rabbi. Since the Rabbi has such a world-renowned reputation the visitor expects to see a great home filled with valuable treasures.; However, he is shocked when he sees a bare home with almost nothing in it. “Where are your possessions?” he asks in astonishment.
The Rabbi responds, “Where are yours?”
“What kind of question is that?” the tourist responded. “I’m a visitor here.”
“I am too,” the Rabbi replied.
Long before Marie Kondo, the nineteenth century designer and supporter of the arts and crafts movement William Morris advocated, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”[1] Or, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”
