3 Years On, What Is the Place of Simple Living in Our Post-Pandemic World?
Many of us said we would live a simpler existence from 2020 onwards. Did we manage it?
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I remember it well. I think we all do.
Nearly three years ago, many of us were confined to our homes. During that first Covid Spring and Summer - before we really knew what we were dealing with - we were baking bread, working from home, and questioning if we really need two cars in the driveway when we were using neither. Despite being the busiest I’d ever been in my wine store, I still managed to spend more time at home than ever.
We were living simpler lives and from the hordes of customers I spoke to on my wine delivery rounds, many of us were quietly enjoying ourselves on a personal level, even if we wish it was under better circumstances.
Despite Covid-19 being a horrible point in human history, it did come with its advantages, one of which was a pause. A time in our incredibly busy lives when we were forced to stop, take stock, and re-evaluate everything, be it good or bad.
There are not many times in life that sort of opportunity comes along.
There was a lot of bad during Covid - I can’t stress that enough. But there was also some good. People realized they were working too hard in jobs they hated. It sparked the Great Resignation. Heck, I sold my own business to someone who had evaluated their life and decided it was time to switch insurance for wine. That would never have happened if it wasn’t for Covid.
People found both solace and contentment in smaller, simpler existences. We promised ourselves that when the world returned to “normal”, we would remember to keep it simple.
In much of the world, the pandemic no longer has the stranglehold on our lives that it once did.
So. Did we remember to keep it simple?
It’s really hard to find real data on if people are - or are not - living simpler lives post-pandemic. But I have found some positive indicators:
Remote work is in far higher demand now than it ever was pre-pandemic.
People are much more prepared to switch jobs in order to work remotely.
Our time spent online is reducing post-pandemic.
36% of people feel mentally healthier now than they did pre-Covid.
People are feeling less alone after Covid.
On the other hand, I’ve noticed in my own friend and family circles that people are busier - and spending more money - than ever, which could indicate we are not taking everything quite as slow or simply as we could.
Not all of this is our fault. Even those with even the very best of intentions would struggle to keep everything simple in the shit show that has been 2021-2023.
Inflation, insane mortgage interest rates, energy prices, and the war in Ukraine - all of it has contributed to an increasingly complex world. A world that few of us could have predicted back when we were baking sourdough every few days, dreaming of incorporating it into our “new normal.”
There’s also something else at work here and that is trauma. It’s well documented that Covid counted as a traumatic event, not just for those who lost loved ones but anyone who went through it (that would be all of us).
The isolation, the fear, the uncertainty. The fact that it went on for a very, very long time.
Some scientists believe we have not yet dealt with that trauma.
I can well believe it. Few people I know want to talk about or re-live Covid era - myself included if I’m honest.
What I’m interested in here is how that trauma could affect the way we choose to live our life, post-pandemic. Do people equate a simpler life with life during Covid? Could that put them off? Do they want to return to a state of busyness to remind themselves of what life was like back in the halcyon days of 2019 and before?
It’s not exactly a stretch.
Finally, there is the fact that many people are completely apathetic.
Writer John Gorman talked about this recently in his excellent article Everyone Is Radicalized and No One Out Here Cares:
The Internet has led us to believe there are more of us — the loud among us on every side, really — than there actually are. There are really very few of us. […]
Most people don’t fight the culture war — not because they don’t want to die but because no one told them the war was happening at all, much less worth fighting. […]
Yes, people really lose their lives over injustices, prejudices, and lack of affordable access to fucking everything. And it hurts viscerally. But our level of care is not their level of care; not because they’re cold, heartless, evil bastards, but because lives are full as it is. Most people aren’t assholes, they’re just busy.
In other words, many people go with the flow without truly thinking about why they do what they do.
How many people do you know like that? I can name a few.
This apathy keeps people living lives that are not owned by them, but by who they hang out with, who they listen to, and wider events they may not even realize affect them.
We live in a late-capitalist society that - for want of a better phrase - loves to keep us on a hamster wheel with the blinkers on. It makes us easier to sell to.
So is it any wonder that many people haven’t kept the changes they made during Covid-era? That would take monumental effort and intention that many people neither have the time nor the inclination to engage in.
Here’s my take.
It’s no easier to live simply now than it was pre-pandemic. In fact, I would argue it’s harder because Covid kickstarted some crappy economic changes - like those mortgage rates and inflation - that keep us hustling hard.
What Covid did do however is show that it is possible to live a different way. It showed people that they have the ability to pivot, think outside the box, and change the way they live their life. It let people glimpse what life could be like if they slowed down and made constructive changes to their life.
If you’re prepared to put in the work then a simpler life - even in 2023 - is possible. It might not be exactly what we envisaged during those early Covid days, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a wonderful thing.
Reading for the weekend
This week’s Medium articles (paywall free)
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I have often thought of the positive outcome of lower air traffic. Carbon emissions were way down. Wildlife started returning. That showed how much humans CAN make a difference. Hard to implement that kind a change though.
I personally think I am more aware of how I spend my time. Am I making good use of the life that could be taken away at any moment?
Great essay, Charlie! I agree, I think we’ve probably lost the “let’s make our lives simpler” gusto, but I do believe the people who wanted it were given the opportunity they needed to change their lives (in one way or another) for the better.