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Keep your hands off!

We have been compelled to develop a no-touch society during the CVD-19 pandemic, without being aware, or preparing well for the consequences. Social Isolation, home working, restricted movement and travel, will all have residual effects on society world-wide. Those waiting to see what’s going to happen post CVD-19, are already behind the curve.

Reaching out (metaphorically and physically) has never been more problematic; we simply can’t afford to reach out and touch another human being, for fear of spreading the virus. The disruption caused by the social distancing needed to prevent this pandemic is changing everything we do and many of these changes will stick. How we eat, work, shop, socialise, exercise and manage our daily lives has changed and to many, the new world order is a change for the better.

I was moving towards home working in 1997 when I first recall seeking that privilege from employers ill-equipped at the time, to grant my request. The internet existed then more as a research tool for academics and research institutions. My dream was to spend more time at home with my family whilst being confident that I could juggle my work/life balance and be productive in both. I was premature. Not only could my employers not see the benefits, I hadn’t taken into consideration the amount of motivation required to make each aspect of my life functional and productive, whilst home working or home schooling, nor did I consider the myriad of distractions to help me avoid doing the most important things first. Instead of playing frisbee with the dog, watching just one episode of some daytime TV programme or browsing the net because a “what I’d really like to be doing” thought popped into my head, I needed to understand how I should be organising time.

Repetition, repetition, repetition; are supposedly the only three things required to acquire a competant skill, plus 10,000 hours of deliberate practice amounting to dedicating approximately 7 years of your life, four hours a day to something, to become a Master – if you subscribe to Malcolm Gladwells 2008 pop psych theory. However, various studies (and Mr Gladwell himself) now debunk his theory, espousing that practice is not a sufficient condition in itself but that motivation and of course a degree of passion and skill in the chosen field are required.

This change will manifest in many ways, both positive and negative. The isolation will create greater distancing from work colleagues which could lead to reduced stimulation leading to anxiety and depression. Society needs to recognise this and provide services to counter the spread of mental disorder. Its quite clear that the on line consumer society has also contributed to isolation and the spread of anxiety and therefore society collectively and on-line communities are responsible for providing the antidote but not by promoting the proliferance of drug remedies. The theory being born out of the response to CVD-19 is based on talking as opposed to meeting. Stephen Hawkin once wrote: “For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.” Just look at what can achieved when on a world wide basis, we attack the greatest threat to world health through communication. Apply the same rigour to tackling anxiety and depression and we could begin to build a better more positive outlook.

When it comes to staying at home, the first challenge is not the time you are imprisoned, its the development of passion and motivation derived from spending time with loved ones, children, parents and friends (in houses of shared occupancy) that should be cultivated, not just the dedication to the number of hours spent on acquiring or developing a new skill but developing these relationships first, to discover what really floats your boat. Gradual shifts in home working have been happening over time but this enforced episode of home staying, will undoubtedly, unpreparedly, accelerate more immediate behavioural change.

Isolation may become our new normal with the optimisation of working at home, better solutions to communications challenges and better use of technology beyond typical office environments driving the change. Our identity is fast becoming more than just our job and we can now enjoy the multiple sources of stimulation that are the result of staying at home with loved ones rather than spending 1/3rd of our day with relative strangers at the office.

Convenience

Everything will be ordered on the net and will be delivered, whether by motorbike, white van or drone. Alternatively; is it time to localise again and reinstate local services such as the butcher the baker and ………..? Doorstep milk delivery is already making a resurgence. Is this the time to deconstruct the supermarket giants and return to a simpler local model of food procurement? The farmers around me (outnumbered now by the non-farmers) would certainly welcome the opportunity of selling locally grown produce to local communities instead of suffering the tactics of multi national supermarket buyers, driving prices down to uneconomic levels, forcing them out of business (thus the proliferance of non-farmers). Knowing where your food is coming from is becoming increasingly important and sourcing locally, drives down individual carbon foot-prints.

Just take a look at the reports of natures recovery. Taken with a pinch of salt at present, it seems our environment adapts as we do, something scientists have been ramming down our throats for decades, a message we have resolutely ignored – till now maybe? Our personal evolution (revolution) appears to make a real difference and when it is for the better, nature responds.

Inconvenience

Humans take time to change so we have to expect rising tensions and conflicts between opposing factions. Today in America, there are protests against lockdown in several states and civil unrest will lead to new laws and the legal systems in our countries will be beleaguered with claim and counter claim relating to civil liberties and legal breaches, relating to contracts or regulations as a result of ‘Force Majeur’. If you check your health, home or business insurance policy, CVD-19 may not exist as a notifiable disease and how many Insurance businesses might try to wriggle out of their obligations to you, to cover such things as loss of earnings, business continuity or added complications to existing illness due to this pandemic?

Our conventions and belief structures have been around for eons and will be slow to adapt. Our churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and sanctuaries, now all closed, might become less significant to congregations of all denominations. Congregation has been banned for several months and its possible that collective worship will be replaced in favour of technological solutions to celebrate individual beliefs with others of similar faith? Any attempt to homogenise beliefs will always present opportunities for conflict but if the evidence of the coming together of communities, belief structures, creeds and colours during CVD-19 is anything to go by, radicalism will decrease and social and cultural integration will improve.

There are many other threats that must be considered. The older generation are less inclined to isolated living (although this is a sweeping generalisation) and more reliant on collective support structures. They are deemed to be less proficient with technology but there is evidence that they can grasp video conferencing fairly quickly and have adapted really well so far.

Prove you are Immune

One big threat (or opportunity) I perceive, is that there will be value in being able to provide formal proof of immunity from spreadable disease in the future and the test, track and trace policy might then extend to all maladies. It may also be the case that some organisations might become selective about who they might interact with in the future. This is a bit George Orwell I know but social consciousness and awareness is heightened now and responses might become radical. In the present and in the future, primary prevention will be an essential component of avoiding a “V” bounce back after initial peaks are being reached worldwide in any pandemic and lets be clear, there will be more. Being able to provide certified immunity might become a ‘thing’ in the future?

I can’t image it – but will people stop going to events, football (soccer) matches, concerts, theatre, festivals etc? Will the hospitality industry respond by providing solo dining venues, robotic service? Will events providers move to VR experiences, immersive technology and other solo experiences where you feel part of the crowd? I already know that listening to music in 8G is a different experience than listening in mono or stereo and that the technology in headphones nowadays improves the quality of the listening experience.

I Recently stopped going to live events because they are actually more enjoyable from the comfort of my arm chair. Sport in particular is enhanced by slow motion replays, detailed investigations through multiple camera angles, debate between officials and pundits etc. The atmosphere is what is missing, the collective ooh’s and aah’s of the crowd, the applause, the energy, the feeling of being part of the game and involved with your icons – how can that be replaced? Certainly not by technology as the farce that is “crowd Noise” as the Premier League in England restarts without crowds has proven.

What if you can’t attend an event unless you can prove your health? What if you haven’t got a certificate of immunity to travel on public transport, planes, boats or trains? Will your passport require to contain readable technology that is updated on-line everytime you travel? Will on-line health assessments to update your personal details determine whether you can move around the world freely in the future? Will vaccination (when it is developed) be mandatory?

My wife and I (elderly citizens) believe we suffered a CVD-19 type of illness at Christmas this year. It was horrible and something I would never like to go through again but thats not the point. We may be immune! Thinking this, we tried to get tested so that we could volunteer in the health service of our local community. We wanted to be able to help by caring, moving trolleys, cleaning or providing relief for overworked staff in any capacity. No such test is available and therefore we are frustrated and the local hospital staff remain overworked, stressed and tired, not the ideal psychological profile for caring professionals. Now, we understand that immunity can be reversed and that some people who have suffered and have been treated for CVD-19, have been reinfected after the first treatment was administered. Is the virus mutating so quickly?

Employment

We are now facing unprecedented levels of local unemployment. This will have a negative impact on global economies. Many will be forced to reconsider their career path and opportunities in business sectors will diminish. Simply switching jobs to a competitor will be a thing of the past, as entire sectors will be downsizing or becoming insolvent as demand for these services decreases.

We might all have to upskill, re-skill or retrain and diversify into smaller working portfolios of entrepreneurial style personal business, to recover our income expectations. Alternatively, we might settle for less and live more simply. Lets face it, personal expenditure is already less during the lockdown….. Will the economy ever catch up with these changes?

Companies will reduce their commitment to property leases. The vacation of glass clad office buildings in every city centre in the developed world, will signal the start of a global recession or perhaps a global depression. Property developers will cling tightly to their assets but the banks may have different policies going forwards and empty city centre buildings may become more prevalent.

Perhaps we could fill empty office buildings with homeless people, or convert them to Nightingale hospitals. Homelessness needs to be a thing of the past and we are certainly going to need more hospital capacity should viral pandemics be here to stay!

Global Refocus will draw further commentary from contributors at http://www.globalrefocus.com. Please note the web address and join us for continued observation of our changing world.

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    Become the change you’d like to see

    As the World slowly emerges from the Covid-19 Virus Pandemic, people are noticeably different. In social isolation, and periods of deep introspection, we might have discovered what is actually important to us and hope to break out of our own personal prisons. On a recent trip to Tasmania, I remember the cold isolation I felt in Port Arthur where so much despair existed in so many isolated prisoners.

    Port Arthur penal colony Tasmania

    Communications have changed, travel has changed, work, education and health care have changed. We are socially distanced and some will feel like the poor prisoners in Tasmania back in 1830 when their social isolation, meted out as punishment for secondary crimes in the territory, isolated them entirely from family and friends. However, following the closure of the Penal Colony, when transportation began to dwindle in 1853, there was a period of remarkable activity that aimed to make the station economically sustainable. Port Arthur is now a tourist destination and testimony (some might say) to social isolation.

    When social distancing is a thing of the past in 2020, will our thoughts, attitudes and habits return to the way they were in 2019 or will we experience the freedom of the time we had to think and refocus our priorities?

    Port Arthur prison floor – ‘this gigantic structure was exquisitely clean, so clean, so silent…….’

    Global Refocus wants to raise awareness and to promote action so that people can continue the change in themselves and promote change throughout the world in others by being actively engaged in projects and promoting ideas that have tangible outcomes for the good of the world’s social economy.

    It is said that all change starts from within. The Greek Aphorism, ‘To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom’ has been attributed to Socrates and may have new meaning in todays society. Is it now motivational, inspirational or aspirational? The truth is, it will mean something different to each individual and might mean nothing to someone who’s only priority is survival. 

    For those of us who were born between 1946 and 1964, the ‘me’ society; we experienced incredible social change, technological advance and economic growth but enjoyed less mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health, which is likely to become the worlds future collateral. By taking stock, looking at beliefs, understandings and outlooks, great change can occur but changing conscious thought is hard because unconscious programming dictates how we think and act. 

    Refocussing on our inner programmes, the ‘operating systems’ we learned from our parents before we were 7 years old, can help us rethink and refocus on a different view of the world and begin to create new programs of our own, to follow in the future. 

    Break free

    The opportunity to make dramatic changes in our lives and in the lives of others has occurred through this global pandemic and if we miss or ignore this opportunity we will repent at our leisure and the world will be a poorer place. There is so much more we can do and Global Refocus will develop ideas, provide opportunities, gather and distribute information and attempt to unify the most formative individuals in the 1st World economy, those born between 1946 and 1964, the ‘Baby Boomers’, a name I will only ever use once on this website.

    My generation are the most privileged generation so far in the developed world. They missed two world wars in which millions died, the industrial revolution and the great depression. They benefitted from the advantages of free education, thriving industry, stable jobs and affordable homes. They didn’t expect CVD-19 and many perished as a result of a virus that affected the older generation to a greater extent. Those left will influence politics and economic polarisation in the future but are probably least well placed to do so, as modern technology overtakes them.

    There is a sharp political divide along generational lines in the developed world and its hard to refute that politics are currently driven by older people and that resentment is entrenched across all age groups. Boomers stand accused by millennial’s of stealing their economic future, whereas the fears of older voters are compounded by overcrowded understaffed hospitals and belief’s that the revenues generated by new generation butterflies, flitting from job to job, won’t fund future welfare.

    Shifting dynamics by creating intergenerational spaces through the use of technology and opening dialogue about a shared economy to benefit all in our society, might prove useful. Many of my generation enjoy homes where there are more rooms than they can use. How about opening a dialogue about home sharing schemes to create community living spaces that also cater for home based social care of the elderly, in exchange for affordable accommodation?

    It is these issues and their resolution that Global Refocus would like your input on and we will provided information and education based on the new normal that we will all experience in the coming decade. We welcome articles, short stories and information that we can share and as our services develop, we can seek volunteers to drive integrated social change. Please leave a comment on the ‘Contact Us’ page for mediation and publication.

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    Reaching your peak

    Mountains: where the air is thin at the top of the world, I’ll be there……..

    There is nowhere else on earth that compares with the mountain environment and unless you’ve been, you won’t understand.

    The sheer majesty of peaks reaching up to 14,000 feet, the craggy outcrops and glacial rivers shrouded in snow and the risk of it all going wrong at any minute, captures the imagination of only the brave.

    Not everyone is cut out to summit Mont Blanc, in fact, there are many who would consider that to be a crazy endeavour but those that venture there do so, because it inspires, scares, enlivens and focuses them. It takes a special individual to enjoy the risk of mountaineering, skiing or alpine trekking but their purpose is simple, they want to feel they have achieved something special, something not everyone can.

    The great thing about humans is that they are the only species on the planet that can imagine themselves doing something and if well rehearsed mentally, can actually manifest their dreams. However, not everyone is physically capable or has the desire to climb mountains. I use the example as an extreme.

    The power of our imagination is so strong that we seem to be able to visualise what we can achieve and then actually achieve it! Science is catching up with psychology and evidence that the power of the outcome of thought alone is measurable in every day life is quite remarkable. Dr Joe Dizpensa and Dr Bruce Lipton are compelling authors on the subject of epigenetic’s and the achievement of the extraordinary through thought alone.

    Global Refocus will introduce readers to concepts emerging from such renowned academics and from other contributors who are making personal transformation the most studied modern day phenomenon. Following on from these short blogs, I will bring forward some incredible stories about people who have climbed their own personal mountains and how it is Global Refocus hopes to use the teachings of these enlightened individuals, to refocus on what’s important after CVD-19

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    Colourful Italia

    My thoughts turn to Italy’s recovery as I recall last years trip to Venice, Turin and the Cinque Terre, all areas massively impacted by the C-19 pandemic. The colour and vibrance of our pictures embodies the nature of the people, of their towns and their communities.

    It is thought that the warmth and tactile nature of the Italian welcome contributed to the speed of the spread of the epidemic and the close narrow streets that we delighted strolling through were no barrier to the killer disease.

    Sitting in an outdoor cafe sipping San Pellegrino; sparkling water from the worst hit area of Bergamo (or coffee, wine or beer), on a warm spring day, is a far cry from the reports of so many losses and total lockdown. However, Italy will be back! Victims to the economic crash of 2008, Italy was almost back to its best 10 years later and tourism was slowly building up their economy.

    Venice was hard hit by the virus and by extensive flooding after the highest tides and highest rainfall they had experienced in over a century, flooded St Marks Square and tipped the Gondola’s onto the quayside, much to the dismay of this water based community.

    If I were planning a European trip, I’d be booking now for the Autumn of 2020, to visit these wonderful places and to experience Italian hospitality. Prices will be low at the moment and independent travellers can make best use of public water transport (Vaporetto)(Venice) and the network of trains that service the rest of the country.

    A flight into Marco Polo airport then a private water taxi to your destination (slightly more expensive option) is one of the most exciting “first experience” things I have ever done.

    TIP 1: stay in Lido, a sand bank just 10 minutes away from Venice and a lot cheaper than the town.

    TIP2: a 6-day pass on the Vaporetto is good value for money and let’s you visit Murano and Burano Islands, each with their own unique charm.

    NOTE: be careful you get on the right water bus (Vaporetto), there are two operators and if you’re on the wrong one with the wrong ticket, a hefty fine of €60 will be issued and there is no getting away from the Carabinieri!