The Solitary Man's Guide To Lockdown

(Credit: Mark Aaron - great piece by the way!)

Excuse the indulgence. This article isn’t being done entirely out of the goodwill of my heart or some false gesture of generosity. I am somewhere about 35-40% of the way through the first draft of my second novel. Having finished a chapter I am looking for a bit of variety in my output without ceasing activity. I'd been mulling over the idea of an informal piece on something a little bit different. 

   So, yes, there is a purpose to this article that is wholly self-serving, and given my particular proclivities and mental make-up, I like to think I can write something on this subject with some degree of credibility. We creative folk spend a lot of time on our own and are uniquely well-equipped for such a scenario as lockdown. Or maybe I’m kidding myself and fishing in the dark like everyone else, just winging it. 

   I think it’s safe to say that 2020 has been one hell of a year. The inescapable shadow and unwelcome intervention of Covid-19 into our lives was quickly followed by the undisputed bungling on the part of a number of our various governments’ handling of things. Their inability to approach it seriously is sadly symptomatic of their positions from the outset, creating a scenario where we are in the midst of a seemingly endless stop-start cycle of existing within and without varying degrees of restrictions. 

   Speaking for myself, I am getting rattier by the day about this particular part of it. When I see how well others have walked through the fire and the standard of life they are living because the state institutions acted correctly when the time was right (and continue to do so), it’s hard not to be envious and occasionally cross. Not being able to see family and friends with the usual freedom, along with the prevailing anxieties about the dangers an ever-present virus is hard. 

   Put simply, lockdown is rotten. 

   While it shouldn’t have to be that we have to learn to “live with Covid,” (incidentally, stop using that as your get out of jail free card, you goons. You done messed up, plain and simple!) it is what it is. This is where we’re at right now. 

   However grim the initial prognosis maybe, there are ways and means to thrive, take advantage of the circumstances, make the most of it. I have decided to take the same, tawdry old formula of banging up a list, and I know, you might be going, “Ugh, another list… those things are a dime a dozen!” But hear me out! Perhaps you can derive some lessons, inspiration, or even just the solace in knowing that you’re not the only one who has been messed up and rattled by all of these shenanigans. 

   Anyway, here goes!

Murder By Numbers (1-2-3)...

1. Establish a routine – on the cusp of the initial UK lockdown back in March (which came about a week-and-a-half to two weeks too late!), I was working two different jobs, both of which came to an abrupt, screeching halt when things reared their ugly head. I’d established a pretty good routine, and after a long period of occupational and personal dissatisfaction, this was rather disconcerting. Soon as you get all your cards into some degree of order, lo and behold, a global pandemic emerges and your deck isn’t worth shit. Such is life, right? 

   Mercifully, I was furloughed on one and paid out the remainder of my contract on the other. Though good for the immediate, these were minimal, short-term sums. Faced with the facts, I made a rough guesstimate I would be looking at six months of potential unemployment. Being more or less housebound once lockdown was announced, it very quickly dawned on me that I would have a lot of free time on my hands. 

   Knowing what I did about the importance of a good, steady routine as far as my own well-being, having sought to do so even in the midst of a previously inhumane work schedule, I quickly sought to do the same in lockdown. Though a perennial night-owl, I decided to start getting up earlier, setting out to make the most of my days instead of staying up late and sleeping in, as was not uncommon in the past. I spread my time out across the course of a day, addressing each section individually, but making sure at the start I had a general, rough idea of where I was going and what I was doing. 

   I am at heart a foul creature of habit. I seek solace and derive great comfort from the rigidity of a routine. Once well and firmly-established, you don’t even have to think about making a conscious effort; it becomes second nature, an intrinsic part of you. Also, now having returned to some vague sense of a structured normality as far as work and all, it means I can apply the same aesthetic approach towards my day-to-day life and get on with things as best as I can.

2. Deviate from your routine – remember what I said about establishing a routine? Yeah, do, because it is of key importance in relation to the deviations.

   I find great comfort in a routine, but equally it can get incredibly tedious at times doing the same things over and over again, so don’t be afraid to change, mix it up, do something different every now and again.

   As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. 

   I used to be so stiff and rigid to the point that I was unshakeable. If I set out to do something there was nothing which could deviate me from the path that I had set out. Now while that is good in that it means you have the motivation and willpower to see things through, equally it can create a situation were you are totally inflexible in your lifestyle and routines.

   Personally speaking, especially because the opportunity does not come knocking as much as it used to, I take advantage of them when I do. I am started to derive great enjoyment from being able to act more spontaneously and being impulsive. I may be a fastidious time-keeper who detests change and things happening at the last-minute, but there is a lot to be said for the liberation of just letting go of all that stuff from time to time and not giving a damn. 

   As such, whenever you return to your routine, it will make you realise just why you like it in the first place without letting you become bored of it. 

3. Be disciplined/moderate your indulgences – this one definitely applies to me as much as anyone else. 

   As someone who has a life-long tendency towards excessive/obsessive behaviours with the odd addictive tendency (put simply, I overdo just about everything I enjoy), I constantly have to keep myself in check regarding my indulgences. 

   That being said, there is nothing wrong with discipline. I know that a lot of people are frightened and intimidated even at the prospect, the concept, the ideas behind the word ‘discipline.’ It can be a daunting prospect, but trust me when I tell you that it’s all in your head.

   Some people will be good to themselves on weekdays, treat themselves at the weekend, but if you’re like me and apply the occasionally treacherous feast-famine aesthetic, living like a monk for months at a time before being gluttonous and putting on half a stone in a fortnight from beer and pizza (my record is twenty pounds in five weeks, I’ll have you know! It happens...), you have to moderate yourself.

   At the start of lockdown, I decided not to drink, and then a month later, for the first time since I started at fifteen, I made the conscious effort not to smoke. Note, not to smoke, not to quit smoking. Those are two very different things. If you tell yourself you are quitting something, that you can’t spark up should you take the notion to do so, I find that the mental pressure to stick to it is much harder. Saying you won’t is a nice little loophole and way of working around the additional mental pressure.

   As such, although it wasn’t easy at the start, I got into the thick of it and went over five months off alcohol and four months off tobacco. The strongest substance to enter my body during this time was caffeine. Even my previously copious cups of tea and two packets a day of chewing gum were reduced and cut back as a pleasant side effect. A good, thorough cleanout is incredibly stimulating for the mind and the body, so much so that you appreciate simple things you take for granted, sensations such as smell and taste, get high on fresh air, bountiful nature, life itself. 

   Furthermore, when you do decide to return to these things, as I did in August for a time, you enjoy them a lot more. Also your tolerance levels are lowered, so it doesn’t take as much to level you out. Three or four pints these days and I’m anybody’s ball game. Five or six and I’m dead to the world and lost to many. You enjoy yourself a lot on less and don’t need to do things to excess. 

   It also means that, after you have crossed that bridge once, and believe me it still remains a bridge, it becomes less hard to go over the next hump and do it all again. I am presently in the midst of another cleanout, and this gives me something else to look forward to in the coming weeks leading up to Christmas.

   To be disciplined, set your goals, stick to your routine and follow through with what you set out to do, or how you are going to conduct yourself, ensures that whenever you do decide to deviate, it’s a reward. It’s a ways and means to treat yourself, a toast to your success in being good to yourself. Now you can be bad and eat that big bag of crisps or a tub of ice-cream! 

4. Step outside your comfort zone – as I perhaps alluded to in the previous entry on moderating indulgences, you have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone. 

   I get it. Sometimes saying those things is much easier said than done. There is no shame in fear or being afraid. I am someone who has been wracked with an assortment of fears, strange, startling and all too familiar, at different points over the course of my life. I grew up with an eating disorder, have had my dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, and to this day there’s rarely a month when I don’t have at least one nightmare about my teeth falling out. What is shameful is not being honest enough to be able to admit your flaws and turning away from confronting your own weaknesses. 

   Now, I have used this time to address a number of personal deficiencies, so now I am at the point where I can live my life without most of the relative kickbacks. I’m able to admit that I am, at heart, a nervous and shy individual housed within a body of outspoken confidence, and that’s okay. I'm in a happy place and that's all that matters. I’m comfortable with the inherent contradiction, because, after all, aren’t we all just a bunch of walking paradoxes looking for reasons to justify our existences? 

   However, I will use a creative example to display how I have stepped outside my comfort zone (and use it as a cheap plug for one of my projects).

   As a writer (and creative artist in general), one of my problems is I tend to move on fairly quickly and bounce from one thing to the next. I get bored very easily, and being a flighty chile if something isn’t stimulating enough it is a bad habit of mine to leave it to the wayside and oftentimes as a result I will never come back to it because I’m constantly producing new and original things. As such, until fairly recently, I had never completed a feature-length screenplay. Although I have had a lifelong interest in film, screenwriting does not come as naturally to me as poetry and prose. The most I could ever manage was shorts, and I never actually sought to legitimately teach or improve myself at that particular craft, make the effort to follow through and finish what I started. I have a number of ideas for feature films I would like to do, umpteen unfinished scripts I never brought to their natural conclusion. 

   But this year I did. Although by no means is it the final product (at three-hundred and fifty-five pages, it’s the equivalent of a six-hour movie. And people though that The Irishman was long!), I am glad to say that I was able to finish a first draft of my very first full feature-length screenplay. The White Wolf is a ghost story set in 19th century Mayo, and the thrill of getting past that initial trepidation has inspired me with the confidence that, down the line, I can address this again in the process of further re-drafting and carve it up into something resembling a feature film. I found it to be thoroughly rewarding, and even though I viewed it initially as a sort-of ‘side’ or ‘inbetween’ project, I have come to look at it as one of my more ‘major’ works. I am proud of how it has turned out, and once I whip it up into decent shape will be excited to see the journey it takes from there.

5. Be creative – and this brings me nicely to my next point, be creative. 

   Now, obviously that is easy for me to say, so I’m not going waste my own or your time being a complete braggart and telling you everything I’ve done in the past number of months. As a someone who is pursuing this as a legitimate vocation, I have years of work under my belt and am attempting to make a living off of it, but there’s no reason why you or anyone else can’t be creative. 

   Part of the beauty of art is that there are no definable categories between an amateur or so-called professional in the same way that there may be between, say a lay person and the clergy You don't have spend years studying the craft in order to enjoy it, though dare I say it has taken me at least ten years in order to get to a point where I am now personally satisfied with the quality of my own work. Just throw yourself in and see what the hell happens. Although there exists many a charlatan, all are welcome to worship at this church.

   Take the time, make the time, to sit down and draw a picture, paint a painting, learn the guitar, play the keyboard, do whatever. Speaking for myself, although I’m trying to do it in a more ‘professional’ capacity, the benefits of creativity on mental health, stimulation of your mind and personal wellbeing cannot be disputed. Even something as simple as one of these adult colouring books that are doing the rounds or a jigsaw can do wonders for you. 

   The concept(s) of creativity can be applied to just about everything. It does not extend to purely artistic. Whether you’re grooming your garden, honing your culinary skills or teaching yourself how to knit clothes and weave textiles, creativity is a state of mind that extends over and above these boundaries. It is both an expression and extension of self, begging to be explored.

   As an overactive polymath with an excessive overabundance of energy levels bordering on hyperactivity, I try to find as many potential creative outlets as I can. Remember that key word, variety. 

   You can think as big or as small as you want to. You don’t have show your work to other people as long as it has some meaning for you, but equally, do not be discouraged from engaging with others. If you have done something, are proud of it and want to share it with people, show it off. Why not? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

6. Embrace culture – what did I say there about art and creativity? The same aesthetic can be applied to the engagement of others’ work. 

   If you’re like me, something of a workaholic as far as their own creativity, sometimes you fail to make the time to engage with arts and culture. I like to work, and over the past few years I have missed quite a few things, so please, don’t ask me to go into the finer details of the latest Marvel movie. I can’t keep up with the oversaturation for one thing, and am very much removed from the Revenge of the Nerds cult of geekdom that seems to pervade much of mainstream cinema right now. Original content, please! More than likely I won’t have seen it (because I've already some other variation, derivative or related work), and chances are I never will (because I lack the interest and there's only so many hours in the day). 

   Despite this occasional deficiency, I do tend enjoy it when I get to do so. I think it is important to embrace culture, not just to develop your own views, but through that engagement a shared, unified field between your fellow human beings is formulated. Art is a structure over the spaces keeping us apart. How many times have we met people, are seemingly stuck for conversation, until the subject of movies, books, music, painting, you name it, is brought up?

   Not only that, your mind is open to seeing and hearing things in a way you hadn’t before, and you can just have a rollicking good time. 

   This year, I have had the pleasure of reading John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, hands-down one of the funniest and most poignant books I have read for some time. I didn’t read this during lockdown, but I imagine I will return to it at some point soon. It is that good. Bernardine Evaristo’s Booker Prize-winning Girl, Woman, Other gave me, as a white male, an empathetic view into perspectives I may not have otherwise seen or understood. Camus’ The Plague snuck it’s way in there (everyone has at least one ‘pandemic’ related work. And yes, I too have also seen Contagion…), as did my old boy Bukowksi several times over. I finished The Bible, gained great insight from St. Augustine’s Confessions, the works of Ray Kurzweil and James Lovelock, and my heart leapt at the horrors of Beat Sterchi’s Cow. Also, I re-engaged with haiku poetry, so much so that it inspired me to kickstart my own  ongoing year-long project with the medium. Want food for thought? Much is to be derived from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and I just finished Elizabeth Day's How To Fail, which is an interesting look at the formative life events of one's failures and being able to turn those seeming negatives into positive learning experiences. The world is, quite literally, at your fingertips. 

   I don’t get to watch as many movies as I used to, but the extra time afforded has encouraged me to engage with works I otherwise might have overlooked, even if only because of the prospect of a butt-numbing running time. My heart continues to run with Andrei Tarkovsky, whose creative spirituality conjured up emotions in me akin to the ecstatic euphoria of a religious experience. Fritz Lang’s two-part silent classic Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler is a wonder to watch. Though over four-and-a-half hours, between both films (I watched them a week apart) they fly in. Through the pacing and classical storytelling, it gave me the same feeling of exhilaration as that of a contemporary blockbuster. Speaking of which, I was mightily impressed by Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. On another, more harrowing note, I watched Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List for the first time, and it’s easy to see how such a picture quickly entered into the American canon. I like Spielberg anyway, but it is over and above anything I’ve ever seen by the great director. There are many other highlights (Gaspar Noe’s Climax, Shohei Imamura’s Pigs and Battleships, Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard), but I would like to take a moment to shout out to the pure, unadulterated joy of Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. While on paper it is not ‘my kind of film,’ if ever there is such a thing, I was gripped and charmed from start to finish. If it was done any other way it would probably end up being a phony, po-faced piece of social realism, but as it is it’s a beautiful, magical musical, somehow both hyper-real and yet true to life in the way that only cinema can be. From smiling happily and laughing like a grinning idiot to being reduced to a sniveling babbling wreck, I ran the full gamut with this one. It’s truly a majestic thing, an absolute dream and a treasure, and I urge everyone to see it. 

   I don’t watch television with great avidity. Most of the time I don’t period. I could go a month at a time without watching TV in the classical sense. Admittedly, part of that is down to my general avoidance of the dark magic of marketing, and not being someone who is in the habit of binge-watching series on Netflix (I don’t have the patience or temperament justify to myself sitting still for that long without doing something productive), with the plethora of things on offer there is almost too much and I never get round to it because dedication to one requires so much an investment of time. The same can be said for video games which, however much I love the medium, have fallen to the wayside with me in recent years. There’s only so many hours in the day, and along with my film criticism, they have become a sort of unconscious sacrifice. That being said, lockdown highlights for TV include Mr. Robot, Bojack Horseman, classic episodes of Arthur C. Clarke’s series’ Mysterious World and World of Strange Powers, as well as Peter Watkins’ groundbreaking pseudo-documentary depiction of the Battle of Culloden.

   For music, I have always had fairly eclectic and at times esoteric preferences, and so the selection below will exhibit such qualities. Albert Ayler’s madcap brilliance on Spiritual Unity is bewildering and astonishing, and Black Celebration seems to have firmly occupied my position of ‘Depeche Mode album of the moment.’ Collectively, Talk Talk and the extended work of Mark Hollis have kept me going throughout a lot of this (It’s My Life is like my theme for lockdown, and listening to all six albums on my long runs was a great joy). The respective oeuvres of Current 93, Nurse With Wound, Erik Satie, Klaus Schulze and Scott Walker have been soundtracking my creative projects. Jenny Hval's conceptual Blood Bitch constitutes another highlight. However, though it is a recent listen and so my judgment may well be clouded for that very reason, I have a feeling that Gavin Bryar’s The Sinking of the Titanic is perhaps the best thing I have heard in quite some time. The first time I listened to it I was writing emails, and as I have an interest in ambient/minimalist music I had heard of this album and I put it on. (At this point I starting removing certain details because I do not want to spoil anyone the pleasure if they ever listen to this album) I was stunned into complete inactivity. So moved was I by – I couldn’t do anything for the guts of half an hour and just stared into space at the screen. This is one of those things that just bores it’s way in and, as Nick Cave would say, “gets you right down to your soul.” I cannot recommend it any higher or say enough good words about it. 

   Who’s to say by what path or if I may have come across them at some point down the line, but without these circumstances I willingly established and cultivated during lockdown I may never have had the opportunity to engage and embrace these wondrous works of art. I would encourage you to do as much. 

7. Find a spoken-word audio companion – although occasionally overlooked in favour of traditional musical forms, films, television and literature, it’s devotees, myself included, will attest to their usefulness. 

   I have tried audiobooks on a number of different occasions over the years. While I admire the form and listen to them the odd time, they’ve never really done it for me. I never took to tablets either. It’s really just a matter of preference for the physical, but I know a lot of people derive great enjoyment from audiobooks while walking. Furthermore, it can be a new and more intuitive way to learn something. 

   The same can be said for radio. I would listen to the radio on-off, mostly when working out, but the proliferation of advertisements at times make it a bit of a love-hate relationship. I don’t care to hear about some product or insurance I don’t need and it tends to kill my groove, so sometimes I end up knocking on my CDs instead before I get mad. Many folks will swear by the radio though, especially those living alone. The noise and sound from a radio to fills up the often-long periods of silence in their living space, providing them some source/form of company.

   Podcasts do it for me. I find that whether you are in the process of physical activity, doing housework, or simply sitting down in a chair to relax for a stint, a podcast is a great companion. Being as I am, I can’t just disengage, so I insist on listening to something I can learn from, that will teach will something. In much the same way as there is an abundance of TV series out there, the same can be said for podcasts. Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This has been my lockdown buddy. No word of a lie, I'm over one-hundred and fifty episodes in now. While I, a devourer of information, love most of the show and hearing what Longworth has to say about stars I’m familiar with such as Bogart and Bacall, for me the greatest pleasure has been discovering individuals I didn’t know much about, such as Val Lewton, Lena Horne and Frederica Sagor Maas. I have also taken the time to listen sporadically to others, specifically those of Jim Cornette, Jim Ross and Mark Manson. There’s a solo episode of John August and Craig Mazin’s Scriptnotes, (recommended to me by my good friend, the mighty Daniel Kelly) entitled How To Write A Movie, in which Mazin posits the topic of the title in question. I’ve listened to it a number of times now, and I’d agree that it may well be the most succinct lesson in storytelling I’ve heard in under an hour. Real classy. You can find podcasts on virtually every subject, so go out there and see what tickles your fancy! 

8. Take the time to look after yourself – listen, I know how easy it is to be lazy. I’m sit here typing this in a pair of tracksuit bottoms and flip-flops, the highlight of this day having been spent watching the WrestleMania X-Seven DVD. I haven’t shaved in about two weeks and while I have washed today, I have the sneaking suspicion that I could probably do with a spray of deodorant under the armpits. 

   But today’s a rest day, and I’m alright with that because I know that, for the most part, I’ve been looking after myself. Okay, so some of it might be psychosomatic, but notwithstanding the maintenance of good general hygiene, the mental affects of cleansing are not to be disputed.

   In the morning, when I wake up I religiously stick to the routine of brushing my teeth, using mouthwash, throwing water on my face and washing my hands. Notwithstanding my showers, I will do this numerous times during the course of the day. Everyone has their own little tricks of the trade, but seriously, look after yourself.

   What I mean by this is taking the time to measure things. While I am someone who believes in furious levels of activity, you don’t have to kick yourself because you didn’t get as much done as some bozo halfwit celebrity you hate-follow on Instagram who spends as much if not more time making it look like they've done a lot as opposed to actually going out there and doing something. Take time to assess all the elements, the moving parts in your life, find what matters to you, decide what you don’t want to waste yourself worrying about and start using that precious time to do something that matters. But firstoff, look after yourself and those closest to you. Otherwise, what’s the point?

   Also, if you’re feeling tired, exhausted from overactivity or whatever, don’t be afraid to take it easy on yourself. I’m the devil for this one, have to remind myself of it all the time, but remember, it is not an admission of defeat to take your foot off the gas pedal. While it’s good to push yourself towards something, set goals, be productive, it is good to learn, know when to relax. Find that balance. 

   And if you’re feeling down on it, a little bit in the dumps, know that you’re not the only one who feels that way some of the time, and that there’s always someone out there who’s willing to talk. Don’t be afraid to express yourself, ask for an ear. You’re not doing anyone any harm by doing so, but you are doing yourself a disservice if you neglect yourself by doing otherwise. 

9. Check up with other people – and here we come again acroper of one of my own flaws. As an individualist who craves solitude and occasionally veers off the deep end towards egocentrism, it’s good to remind yourself to check in with other people. 

   However much you may be an individual wrapped up in your troubles, surrounded by your own little bubble of comfort, ultimately it is as much the other people around you who make you who and what you are. Never forget that, and never forget them. 

   And I’m not talking about doing this sort of thing out of some misplaced sense of camaraderie, making false intonations for altruistic self-serving purposes because it makes you feel better and you keep telling yourself you’re a good person.

   No, I mean being for real, being legit. No phoniness or fakery. Be sincere. Kind words and gestures can go a long way. Without getting too wound up on this front, you never know what’s around the corner, so be loyal, hold close those who you care about and who give a damn about you. 

10. Make plans for the future – this sucks, doesn’t it? ‘Living with Covid?’ It’s a conversation that, for me, should be a non-starter, a point of debate that is non-existent. In an ideal (and very much feasible) world I believe our leaders could have eradicated this issue at least a couple of times over, but instead they messed it up for everyone. There’s no two bones about it, they fucked up, and we’re in the thick of it, this mess they made.

   As such, the future can seem uncertain. We live in the present, immediate moment, because we have been robbed of the certainty of our possible futures. How are we supposed to make plans when we don’t know how things are going to be? It’s understandable to take that attitude, but there’s an even better way you can wrap your head around it:

   the entire concept of certainty in our future, in any and all possibilities, is an illusion. 

   All we have are possibilities, both envisaged and unseen, and once we resign ourselves to that knowledge, that our only certainty is in fact uncertainty itself, it becomes so much easier to get on with our lives. 

   So if you want to book that holiday down the line, go ahead and do it. We’ve all been through the wringer and could do with something to look forward to. 

11. Exercise – I live for fitness. I love it. My passion for the subject is as such that I could probably write a book on it. In fact, at some point in the future I would like to do so. But that’s a story for another day.

   Anyway, the long story short is that it is one of the most important things in my life. Some people might roll their eyes at such a statement and think there’s far better ways to punish yourself, but I can’t say enough about what it has done for me. It has been a great outlet for my excess energy, and what it has given me over the past four years since I really began dedicating myself towards it is unmeasurable. As a result, I have been able to not only transform myself through more healthy lifestyles, but it gave me back my artistic mojo and enabled me to emerge as a more fully-formed self, discover who and what I really am. Every day presents itself with a new learning curve and I am grateful for my health and to be able to work out. Exercising myself in such a fashion that is beneficial for my body and mind is a gift. 

   For instance, even though I have been at it pretty consistently for a number of years now, at the start of lockdown I set myself a goal as far as running is concerned. It has long been something on my proverbial bucket list that I would like to run a marathon at least once in my life, be it on my own time of my own accord or under more formal settings. As such, over much of lockdown I threw myself whole hog into it. I alluded earlier to my abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, and this helped no end in pushing me forward in my drive towards my goal, laying the groundwork to create a mental mindset accompanying the physical aspect. Now, you don’t have be a maniac like me trying to become a marathon runner within the space of about three or four months and as a result bumming up and knackering your knees, but if you set yourself small goals, eventually your conquering of these will have the cumulative affect of boosting your morale and confidence in yourself, drive you towards the larger goals. 

   Remember, it takes small steps to climb a mountain.

  I can’t say enough good things about the rush, the buzz, the feeling that you get from physical activity. To me, there is just something wonderful about closing yourself off to everything but the exercise itself, the sheer joy of doing it. Admittedly, I like everyone else had to get over the first hurdles in order to reach that stage, and to deny their continued existence would make me a liar. But it gets easier the further down the path you go, and the long-term benefits, how it affects you mentally as well as physically, work together in tandem, feeding into the ever-growing reservoir of short-term benefits. So, it gets to be that what is initially a struggle becomes something to look forward to. 

   Everyone has their drugs of choice. I’ve got mine. 

   It doesn’t matter what size, weight or body shape you are, as long as you are comfortable in your own skin and have the privilege to be physically able to do so, there are few things I can think of greater benefit to your all-round health than exercise. 

12. Be active – as I said, there is a balance to be had as far as activity. You should, absolutely, be able to relax. Take that time. But equally, you should be active so as to make it that when you do relax it’s not just any auld thing. It’s a reward, a treat.

   Do things, keep yourself busy, occupied, stimulated. Maybe this is easy for me to say, given that my neurological makeup is as such that to slow down is abhorrent to my nature. I detest sloth in nearly all it’s forms, but think about it. If the weather permits it, or even not, get out there and tidy up your garden. Go for a walk, write a poem, draw, do a jigsaw, whatever. 

   In the Spring and Summer we were blessed with good weather, so I spent a lot of time, especially at the start, working out the back in my garden. I find physical work outdoors in the fresh air to be therapeutic, and doing bits and pieces every day, setting aside the time to do it, however much or small. It got the point that within a couple of months the garden was looking the best it has in years. When you can look out the window and see the fruit of your labours right there in front of you, it is a very rewarding feeling to know you have done something good which everyone can enjoy and make use of.

  Don’t keep telling yourself you’ll do something tomorrow or try to find reasons to put off what you can do now. By all means, if you have a legitimate reason to do so, yes, that’s different. With the onset of Autumn and Winter, the change in weather and temperature is encouraging me to stay indoors. Our lawn is looking a bit overgrown, and while it annoys me some I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. 

   But don’t go around fishing for excuses. If you can barely convince yourself why you shouldn’t, don’t even bother trying to string someone else along with your bs. If you can’t find something to do outside, do something inside. 

   Set goals, challenges, do things, tell yourself at the start of the day, “I am going to do this,” and do it. 

13. Count your blessings – in hard times, it’s easy to get yourself into the bends. Yes, things are not as they should be, and perhaps the worst thing about it all is that these are circumstances outside of our control. This is an extraordinary time, and we are faced with something that is in an unfamiliar realm to any of our previous experiences. Most of us have nothing we can equate this with, so we’re all dipping out toes into uncharted waters, trying to figure out how the hell deep or shallow this well really is.

   But that’s no reason to get complacent, or even complicit, with the general doom-and-gloom. Misery is infectious, and it doesn’t help that we are being spoonfed garbage, expected to behave in a melodramatic fashion towards a reactionary and materialistic world of false narratives full of things which are, for the most part, inherently meaningless. I mean, really, in a hundred years, who is going to give a damn about most of these people out there in the Twittersphere talking nonsense?

   That is why we should have a look around, take stock of we’ve got, see the good, focus on the positives, learn to be grateful and count our blessings. 

   Over the years, I have become more private. It’s not that I’m not honest. I’m happy to talk about things. It’s just I no longer believe in the necessity of thrusting myself out there, prostrating myself in a subconscious begging to be noticed. I don’t need a sounding board to affirm the validity of my beliefs or shout out all of my business to everyone from the hilltops. This is my life to share (or not to share). There are some matters I prefer to belong to me and not everyone else in the public sphere. However, in this case I will furnish a brief example exhibiting my point. 

   My dog Brody, to whom I have a great attachment (more than most people), has had the run of it over the past year with a number of different ailments, mostly related to age, given that he is now a senior dog. He is my partner in crime, and is sitting here with me right now as I put the finishing touches on this article. He's seen me through just about everything. Perhaps the one really good thing to come out of lockdown in the grand scheme of things is that because we were around the house more we were able to notice more quickly the symptoms he was displaying. As such, without getting into all the details, we got him the proper treatment he required. While he will probably still have health issues on and off for the rest of his days, at the very least we know how to deal with these problems and are able to provide him a good standard of life. 

   So, while there may be all the drama of the day with different things going on (it has not been without some personally impactful lower moments), really I can’t complain. Any time I sway that way, which, to tell you the truth, is not very often anymore, I take stock and think about all the good things. 

   I’d advise you to do the same. If there's one thing I'd like you to take away from this, that'd be it. We all have a lot to be thankful for. 

Well, as the pig with the stutter would say (when he gets there eventually), “That’s all folks!” 

   Be kind, be grateful, be well.   

   Light a little spark and get going.

(Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)