Languishing

Does this interminable pandemic have you languishing? Apparently, it is a recognizable condition. The esteemed NYT even wrote about it here, and I offer a few snippets from the article.

Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.

As scientists and physicians work to treat and cure the physical symptoms of long-haul Covid, many people are struggling with the emotional long-haul of the pandemic.

It’s the void between depression and flourishing — the absence of well-being. ... You’re not functioning at full capacity. Languishing dulls your motivation, disrupts your ability to focus, and triples the odds that you’ll cut back on work.

I think the simple antidote (oops, I had anecdote there), both partial and temporary, is to do something. On Thursday, after picking up cat food, we went for a drive. The bitter cold and wind doesn't appeal to us for walking, but the little drive was a welcome diversion.

Then yesterday, we did something that has not been unusual for us. We picked up breakfast from MickeyDees and took it to the park. I know we have done this a lot over the months, but we aren't there every day by any means or even every week come to that. So, that kind of little outing continues to provide a break and help reduce our languishing.

Once again it was cold and windy, but at least it was sunny. On this cold day, the sun warmed the car to the extent that we were obliged to crack open the windows.

Being in a languishing state of mind, we both forgot to take the usual selfie, which probably cheers the readers greatly. I mean, you must be tiring of those photos.

I was taken with this tree, however. To get past signage, I got as close as I could and took two photos in vertical mode and merged them in post. Due to the perspective, the background is wonky, but it is an impressive tree. I may return at some point with my wide angle lens to try another photo. The sidelight at mid morning seems like a good time for light and shadow variation.

I love it when the trees are just feathering out. That's my word, but you're welcome to use it. In the feather stage you can still sone the bones of the tree. You can use that word too if you like. Looking the other way, toward the park, there were more trees in this stage. 

It was a nice, little break. Hopefully, we'll get out more as the weather improves and before the trees get too leafy. Happily, we did have those early, freakishly warms spells to also break our languishing.