“Life is too serious to take seriously,” is a quote from playwright Noel Coward, and was among the first lessons my former journalism mentor and boss Letty Jimenez Magsanoc taught me. She was preparing me for living up to the stress of covering scenes of suffering, violence, death and destruction that was prevalent during martial law and the post Ninoy Aquino assassination era.

It’s a lesson that I started to draw from facing the economic, social and political anxiety of the Covid-19 pandemic. Having to face the reality of an extended quarantine as the only surefire way to health and safety – originally thought to last a couple of months and now with minimum prospects of a couple of years – many have sought to pivot to this new normal. First it was simple work from home or study online, video-call based meetings and social gatherings, or online purchases of basic goods, commodities and groceries.

But when economic realities set in like job losses and business cutbacks, people turned to alternatives online, whether buying and selling or online teaching. Many enrolled in “masterclasses” to relearn and retool for alternative careers. Exercise and diet routines were researched and executed in the hopes of getting fit to counter those couch potato events of internet movies and TV series binges.

For the life of me I couldn’t bring myself to any of those fixed routines. Perhaps it’s the ADHD in me – 58 years running now – or plain laziness. But these past 11 months of the pandemic have left me satisfied with waking up every morning viewing it as a new day, with just that day’s unique challenges and adventures, and ending it saying either of two things: one, well that was a great productive day or, two, that was 12 hours I’ll never get back. Either way I’ll laugh about it.

Whatever I do, I consider the activity as “recreation.” No, it’s not a task or chore or even a hobby. It’s a recreational activity wherein I choose to do it at that time and space, and enjoy doing it. Take my garden. While many plantitos and plantitas have obsessed over their succulents or manicured lawns I would look at my garden and say, nah, tomorrow’s another day and let the grass grow thicker, taller and even unwieldy. Then in another random morning I’d wake up and decide to take my electric grass cutter and attack our unwieldy lawn with gusto, like the protagonist in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Take that you unforgiving weeds!

My exercise is not a routine. More like move those muscles, whatever and however. I could be doing brisk walks around the village, biking for 10 kilometers, stationary biking, carrying purified water containers to the kitchen, or laying garden stones to make an outdoor dirty kitchen. Just move it.

Work, whether writing this column or strategy documents for clients, are unscheduled (but done according to deadlines).

But, always, in mind of that recreational aspect of the day-to-day of this pandemic. And it has kept me sane.

However, the various issues on the vaccine use and distribution as well as the waves of reemergence of the virus in new or modified forms and waves have got me into thinking that perhaps this recreational approach may be inadequate even for one like me.

Here is where I remember Pastor Joe Mauk, whose retreat centers I have been privileged to use and enjoy in the past years. These are in Rizal, Laguna and the foot of MT. Makiling in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. He calls them “Re-creation centers.” Perhaps the best way to describe the philosophy behind these places is one of a cocoon, spun by the caterpillar where the moth pupa or butterfly chrysalis develops and eventually emerges as a winged creature in all its glory.

Re-creation allows one a period of rest – or even restedness – emerging eventually revitalized and ready to take on newer and bigger challenges. Re-creation does not mean inactivity, lack of productivity or even a state of flux. Rather, it means that in whatever you do, you are relaxedly picking up steam and energy for the bigger task ahead.

The pandemic has been taxing for many. But it should be an opportunity for recreation and re-creation to meet up to the real challenges of an extended lockdown and eventual emergence into a totally different world prior to the pandemic. And believe me, it will be totally different.