Juggling

Learning a New Skill During the Plague

When the pandemic started, and people were still in the early phases of lockdown, one of the memes I saw was, “If you can’t learn a new skill during lockdown, lack of time is not your problem.”

Which basically implied that if you couldn’t learn something new while you were in lockdown, there was something wrong with you, you were lazy, undisciplined, etc.

I call bulls***.

Sure, some people had what felt like more time during lockdown. But most people did not. Particularly those with kids, who suddenly had their full-time job, plus homeschooling. Plus the fear of, you know, the plague all around them, and having to live in uncertain times.

What I want to be very clear about is that it’s okay if you did not learn a new skill during lockdown. It hasn’t been easy. Sure, there are good days, more of them now since it’s summer and I can be outside so much of the day. But there are bad days as well.

I am lucky that I have been learning a new skill, or rather, relearning.

And that is…juggling. Actually throwing three balls up into the air and catching them and then throwing them up again. It can be a metaphor for life. Learning how to physically juggle has brought unexpected dividends.