Lockdown lessons: the morning stillness

It’s just 7:30am and I’m sitting on the sofa with my second coffee of the day. I’ve skimmed through some social media posts and enjoyed the ‘one year ago’ feature of my photos app.

I got straight out of bed to come here, stopping only int he kitchen to grab the coffee. Sitting here, with the balcony doors ajar, I can hear the birds, the breeze through the trees in the garden below and…little else. Something I’ve really started to notice about mornings under lockdown is just how peaceful they are.

With less traffic on the roads and fewer people outside to make noise, it’s like the world’s volume has been turned down. And I’m loving it.

Sitting still in peace and quiet is my ideal start to the day. I’m not a morning person, and I tend to need a slow wind-up and release into the day, even if it means getting up earlier to get some quiet time. Sitting with my iPad and a coffee is ideal.

We’re rapidly approaching that time of year when I wake up to bright mornings and sunshine and I couldn’t be happier. It’s so much easier to get going when you have sight of the sun and can breath it in before turning to the day’s priorities. A contrast with the hurried, frigid, dark winter mornings I dread…

I know before long the tiresome building site across the street will fire up and we’ll be treated to roaring builders and the crack of the jackhammers again. But by then, I’ll be sitting at my desk with my Bose noise-cancelling headphones on, transported elsewhere by the ‘Nature Sounds’ playlist on Spotify.

I wonder, as we return to some semblance of ‘normality’ in the months ahead, will we suddenly notice the volume has turned back up? Or will it be a gradual, almost imperceptible increase, which I suspect would be a lot easier to adapt to?

Either way, this stillness is one of the few advantages I’ve noticed when it comes to lockdown life. Time to bathe in it just a little bit longer…

Good morning.