Thank You COVID

Every challenge presents an opportunity for growth and boy has this been a BIG challenge. It’s really amazing how unpredictable the world can be. As a business owner you try to be prepared for every possible predicament but we were blindsided by this one. At first we were shaken but it is actually really refreshing to get present to the reality that nothing in life can be taken for granted and that though they usually are, you cannot expect each day to be just like the last one.

It is easy to slip into the mindless routine of the day-to-day assuming it will go on like this forever. But it won’t. One day life will take a dramatic turn and you’ll find yourself in uncharted waters. It’s scary to be sure, but a little exciting too, no? Take nothing for granted, surprises can lurk around any corner.

Of course these days we take nothing for granted. Nothing is routine and everything is up in the air. It’s mentally and emotionally exhausting. That’s why we signed up for our boring old routine existence instead of becoming some world explorer or gypsy, always on the move, waking each morning in a new unexplored land (though I’ve sampled that life and guess what? It grew routine and lost its excitement too).

With the constantly shifting landscape it is difficult not to become reactive. There is a lot of pressure to DO SOMETHING. That’s our go-to, isn’t it? Be busy doing something; anything. But COVID-19 has forced upon us the opportunity to stop doing and be still for a moment. Be still and reflect. Unnerving, isn’t it?

We’re poised on the verge of limited reopening around our province and business leaders feel the pressure to prepare for action. Get ready to do something. But what? Nobody’s really sure. There isn’t any strong consensus on what we should do. Should gyms rush to reopen along with everyone else? Should we invest in disinfecting foggers to help sterilize our space between classes? Problem is, as Dr. T points out, none of this stuff is tested or proven. Nobody really knows. We’re so accustomed to relying on expert advice that it’s unsettling to realize that they don’t always know. Ever look at the 1980’s food pyramid? That should remind you that the “experts” never really did know. Not then and especially not now. Only this time they’re being frighteningly candid about it.

Master Dray shared this great article to help clarify the risks associated with COVID. Surfaces can be cleaned to rid them of fallen droplets but as the models in this paper show, and as Dr. T shared this morning, much depends on the particular air currents in a room. Droplets can stay suspended for great periods of time. Total exposure seems the factor determining likelihood of transmission; this means how much dose over how much time with more being worse. So walking past someone who is infected has a relatively low transmission risk as there would be limited dose and a very short exposure time. An infected runner, breathing heavily will be expelling greater volume of virus as they pass you by but the exposure time would also be shorter since they are travelling so quickly. But sharing room with an infected person for an hour is riskier. Even if you do not come close to them, if the air currents are right (or maybe we should say wrong), then you will be breathing in aerosolized droplets as demonstrated in the restaurant model diagrammed in the article. Folks on one side of the restaurant were infected, even those not in close proximity with the sick person, while diners at other tables, even one adjacent to the vector, were untouched due to prevailing air currents. A gym is a place with a lot of people breathing heavily. Even if you’re at the opposite side of the gym from me and never come close to the equipment I touch, there is a high possibility that we are sharing the same air. It’s not just about wiping down equipment!

Wu wei is the art of non-action. Of being still when everyone else is scurrying to and fro. And so we sit like Fabius the Delayer refusing to engage Hannibal’s Carthaginians at the Battle of Cannae. Strategy, not cowardice held him back. Caution, not indecision causes us to pause. We want to reopen. Of course we do! It’s not just our passion but our livelihood at stake after all. But we’re making no reopening announcement at this time. Instead we’re waiting. Watching. Listening. Learning. We’re as impatient as anyone else. But we are not willing to put our members at risk through imprudence. We will be still while everyone else is hustling.

One thing we are certain of: COVID has forced upon us a transformation. You may not recognize it yet. But it has already happened. And it’s a transformation for the better! We will emerge from this much changed and much improved. Like Darwin’s natural selection is supposed to do, this crisis has highlighted our weaknesses and forced us to adapt or die and we have no intention of dying. You may not even be aware of yet but we are evolving and that is a great thing. I’m not going to tell you how we’re evolving; I’ll let the observant among you identify the changes as they slowly emerge. To some of you it may just be a return to business as usual and you may never even notice. But whether you notice or not, we have identified and are addressing our weaknesses and things will never again be quite the same. Growth is always painful. That’s why we need to chase discomfort in our training. These past few months have been a truly sh!tty experience. Let me be the first to say: “Thank you COVID!”