Adaptable Humans

One thing I am amazed about with this state of lockdown is just how quickly it’s all felt normal. Scientists say that humans might be the most adaptable species on earth, and I’m seeing that play out in real time through this pandemic.

“Our brains are essentially social brains,” he added. “We share information, we create and pass on knowledge. That’s the means by which humans are able to adjust to new situations, and it’s what differentiates humans from our earlier ancestors, and our earlier ancestors from primates.”

– Rick Potts, director of the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

The first three weeks were filled with anxiety for me. I’d get up and check the news first thing in the morning. I’d listen to NPR as I cooked. I was on top of all the numbers as soon as they were announced. When I did leave to go to the grocery stores, I cried at how empty the roads were. Going through the store felt like being in some kind of stealth training – avoiding people, getting the food as quickly as possible, not talking with anyone, and getting out in record time.

Now when I leave the house, it just feels normal. Of course the streets are this empty. The other day I took a small joyride through the center of town, where I hadn’t been in a month. I drove past the Alameda park, all locked up. Up and down streets that were empty. And I didn’t cry. It was just sort of like, “okay, this is what Ronda looks like now. Weird.” But there was no emotion, or upset. I was just taking it in, processing the visual information in a way that was from a place of interest rather than adding any kind of emotional layer.

It’s the same thing with our schedules, and not leaving the house now. At first it felt so strange to not be going into town each day, or not going out for coffee, or dropping my kiddo off at school. Now this, this new schedule of squeezing work in where I can, homeschooling, and being at home all the time – this feels normal. I don’t have the same anxiety I had about it a month ago. This just feels like the normal way of doing things.

Humans are amazingly adaptable, and I’m seeing that play out in my own life personally, and it’s a bizarre feeling. I know intellectually that this isn’t normal. I know intellectually that this isn’t how life should be. And yet, for now, it is. So for now, I adapt, and welcome this period of quiet, going inwards, contemplation, and reflection.