Getting through the virus one step at a time has become a motto in our workplace.
Like everyone, MediaWise was faced with how to keep active physically and not be completely consumed by the daily numbers of people getting or dying from the virus. For one of us- John Myers - the solution was simple, hop on a bike. The reality until Stage 4 lockdown was that his life or exercise barely changed. For Penny, however, it had. Faced with more work - helping organisations manage their covid communications - and with swimming pools closed, she was faced with the inevitable. Walking. She is not an enthusiastic walker at the best of times.
Each day is different. It is turning left or right from our home-based office, through the park or up the road and into the lanes of our suburb. Each day is different. There are new people to pass. New street art to be seen. New gardens to espy. And, now as we edge towards Spring, there is the smell of blossom, gradual opening of blooms, and the popping up of bulbs.
A favourite walk is through the park, past the community orchard, abandoned playground and into the Wurundjeri Garden, a collaboration between the Hawthorn Historical Society and the then Hawthorn Council celebrated 30 years in July. It is a wonderful spot near where the Boroondara Creek enters the Yarra. It is a perfect place to have a sandwich and cup of coffee surrounded by Indigenous plants.
Watching the cormorants dry off their wings, kingfishers dart for fish, and ducks dabbling upside down is a reminder that for all the pain and anxiety in the world today that nature is a healer.
The nearby rumble of the occasional tram and car is a reminder that life goes on.
And back to work we must go.