The coronavirus pandemic has undeniably changed the way we live our lives.

There are so many things that we would normally do and love to do, and yet by law and necessity, we cannot do. The result is that we have had to adapt the way we live according to the circumstances. Having said that, the pandemic and lockdown has produced silver linings in the midst of dark clouds, and although not immediately comparable, have brought immense value to our lives by creating more space for reflection and introspection in life. I would like to share some of the things I have recognised about myself and life during the lockdown period in the hope that it can benefit you as well.

From observations of myself and friends, I see a ritualistic tendency in the way we live our lives; what I mean by that is that we have a general predisposition to order our lives in a particular way and forming routines in the day, week, month and year. There seems to be a reassuring rhythm to life. My time at medical school has reinforced that belief and I’m sure this is relatable to many of my peers. For example, during my term-time days, I would normally wake up an hour before I have to leave for lectures or placements in order to freshen up, get dressed, read the Bible, pray and have breakfast. I would plan to arrive at my destination 10 minutes before I am due there to ensure punctuality and account for any unexpected delays. I would go into placements from Monday to Friday and usually get back to have dinner at 6pm before relaxing or doing further study. Saturday would be my recreation day where I would be free to do what I enjoyed and Sunday would be my day-off, where I would dedicate the time to going to church and fellowshipping with other Christians.

There tends to be a negative reaction when we consider rituals as they can be deemed as restrictive, old-fashioned and loathsome, but I think routine is generally a good thing and a fact about the human race - which explains why we get stressed and anxious when new events force us to change our habits. We are a ritualistic species.

Not only do I see a rhythm to life, I also see distinct seasons to life. A very wise writer once quipped:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance... a time to search and a time to give up...a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak...”

We all have seasons to life. Whether it’s primary school, secondary school, university, work, retirement; singleness, married life, parenthood; time in your parents’ house, time to move out into university, time to set up your own household; time of great happiness, time of great sadness, time of mediocrity, etc. It seems that the coronavirus pandemic too, is a season that has been imposed on all of us.

What different seasons in life have in common is that they all force us to embark on something radically new and this is a terrifying prospect for most people and dare I say, especially medical students. We, as medical students, are prone to having a perfectionist mind-set. This is probably because we have a track-record of achieving highly and expect to do so in the future; we have a desire to strive for excellence. This is a good desire but it has an accompanying danger, that we are hesitant of trying something new because we don’t want to embarrass ourselves or seem rubbish or incompetent. This leads to an inhibition to participate in new activities which leads to a stagnancy of life. I’ve noticed these characteristics in myself which has robbed me of joy in the adventure of life.

Bitter pill swallowed, I recognised this and the lockdown, paradoxically, provided the motivation to try something new.

There is an exhilarating nature to trying new things! I would recommend this to be an art-based hobby to be a well-rounded person since we tend to be science-centric. I’m almost ashamed to say it but this year was the first time I baked a cake and made brownies! It took a lot of time and the end-product didn’t look great (although it was tasty!) but the achievement and the novelty was immensely satisfying! There is a restless vibe in London which compels us to do the same routines all the time but it is so important to resist this sentiment. Take the time out to try something new and learn! You may find it to be better than you think!