It all started with the cancellation of the Ryanair flights. We had a weekend away in Venice booked and paid for and I was looking forward to it with great enthusiasm.
That went by the wayside with the worsening COVID-19 situation.
Then the other realisations kicked in and began to bite in our everyday lives.
No sport. No football championship. No hurling. No racing. No rugby. No weekends away. No foreign holidays. No visit to the pub for a pint. No meals in restaurants. No McDonalds. No Supermacs.
And now, no strong white flour in the shops.
I cannot even indulge in a bit of bread baking. Although this is not entirely true as I have discovered new ways of adapting and using the flour that I do have in the cupboard.
But this whole is getting serious and tremendously tedious in how it impacts on us in our ordinary, everyday lives. The lives and days we might normally whinge and complain about.
These are the personal things that are causing me the greatest angst. It is hard to see anything positive from the coronavirus/COVID-19 catastrophe.
Yet, I recognise that I, and my loved ones, are incredibly fortunate (so far) to avoid contracting the virus itself and we are all experiencing good health.
I see too the shocking consequences of the virus all over the globe: the deaths, the isolation of sufferers, the social isolation of millions, the loss of jobs, the fear and anxiety in the minds of millions of people all over the world.
And, yes, I accept that some might see this view as monumentally selfish in the current circumstances.
But people are dying all over the world every day of the week, without any coronavirus-in wars, famines, droughts and we all complain about and reflect upon our own personal situation.
This is natural and part of the human condition.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this Cornavirus shutdown-and even more serious restrictions are rumoured to be on the way-will not have a seriously negative consequence on the mental health and well-being of many.
This, continuing for months, is going to be difficult. We will get through it, no doubt, because it is also part of the human psyche to be able to adapt to the surrounding circumstance, no matter how bad.
But an honest glimpse into the next few weeks, and perhaps months, is an unattractive proposition. That’s until you read a book like Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”.
Now is the time to read it. Trust me on this one.