Thunder In The Distance
The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts and business news in the region. Derek Montague is a Halifax-based reporter for Huddle.
I finally feel comfortable enough to say this out loud: We’re going to be okay in Atlantic Canada; mentally, socially, and economically.
For two years, businesses and the wider community in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick sacrificed their financial and spiritual wellbeing for the public good. It’s now the right time to reap those rewards.
This may sound weird but throughout the pandemic, I’ve felt a kinship and empathy towards businesses. I’ve dealt with significant mental health issues since the age of 12 so the pandemic has been a rollercoaster of depression-hope-energy-lethargy-anxiety-back to depression.
And while interviewing small businesses about the suffering they faced due to strict mandates and low consumer confidence, their words and thoughts often aligned perfectly with my state of mind.
When they used words of desperation, I was feeling desperate. When they were sick and tired of restrictions affecting businesses, I was tired of restrictions sapping my mental energy.
There was a weird period last summer when it looked like the worst of the pandemic was behind us. Things were starting to open again, yet the energy wasn’t what I expected. It was as if the skies above were telling us it was far from over.
Sure enough, Omicron was off in the distance. When that wave hit, things felt hopeless. Surely we would fall this time. And maybe we would get so used to isolation, as a collective, that our future was doomed to being alone at home, talking through Zoom.
I was fearful that offices would never be the same and some of our favourite businesses soon wouldn’t exist.
I recall last summer trying to muster the energy to socialize again. I tried to will myself to be enthusiastic: it’s sunny, restrictions are relaxed, we can gather in a crowd again. But I couldn’t do it. Throughout the summer I cancelled social plans.
I thought I was alone in this anxiety but when I reached out to other people I realized the problem was bigger. People who were very sociable before March of 2020 were now afraid to go out–restrictions or no restrictions.
And it wasn’t even necessarily a constant fear of catching Covid. A lot of people I know were developing social anxiety. It made me scared. I didn’t want society at large to have the same problems I was having. We would never rebound.
If the pandemic reminded me of one thing it’s how businesses rely heavily on us being social. Think about it. How often do you organize an outing with friends and not spend money? “Going out” for the evening means theatre tickets, drinks, amusements, coffee, delicious food, trying on clothes–all the activities that promote a strong economy.
Then came the winter of discontent: Omicron, flight restrictions, cancelled Christmas plans, more anxiety. Offices closed again. It felt never-ending.
The business community warned governments it needed more support or small shops and restaurants would close. Once again, I was interviewing people who sounded desperate and worried.
It didn’t help that it felt like our country was at war with itself when Ottawa was taken over by ridiculous, anger-filled protestors. It was a sign people were fed up after two years and were venting built-up rage.
Then there was the constant inflation, labour shortages, and problems on top of problems. I was convinced we were going down a dark path socially, emotionally, and financially.
But then governments began announcing plans to lift restrictions in time for Spring. And I noticed signs of hope were everywhere. Businesses were announcing they have survived; with the vaccine passports and social distancing rules getting the boot, many businesses across Halifax are pumped for the future.
They are going back to regular hours, they want to hire again, they want to get off the federal support programs and get back to getting their cash from customers.
The stats back up the stories I’ve heard. The latest Statistics Canada data show employment was up 0.8 percent over January in Nova Scotia, where the province added 3,700 jobs.
RELATED: Job Numbers Continue Rebound In Atlantic Canada
Then there is this eye-opening study that shows Atlantic business owners consider their businesses to be in surprisingly good shape.
I also recently spoke to two businesses in the Sunnyside Mall who are preparing to go back to regular hours. You could hear the excitement in the owners’ voices. It’s a far cry from a year ago when businesses were crying for help.
As for me, I’m going out to businesses to socialize again. Last week my friends and I went out to eat, played at the Silverball Arcade, and ate dessert at Middle Spoon. Between the three of us, we spent $100 or more on small, local businesses.
Good mental health leads to a good economy. That’s the connection I only learned over the last two years. And it’s for mental and economic health that we can’t go back to restrictions that promote social isolation. Before this spring we were close to a breaking point.
Why am I so confident in saying we will be okay? I listen to the sky.
Before the pandemic, my friends and I would gather in Saint Andrew’s, New Brunswick, to participate in a memorial golf tournament for a dear friend who passed too soon.
Every year, for multiple summers, we were given only the clearest skies and hot sun–perfect golf weather. It was like something wanted us to have a good time at our yearly reunion, even if it was just for a day.
Then, one year, the forecast was calling for definite rain and thunderstorms. We were prepared for the weather to change our event into an indoor activity.
Then the strangest thing happened: the surrounding towns got a downpour, but Saint Andrew’s stayed dry under a blue sky.
It was like two different weather systems happening in the same geographical area. I never experienced it before and it happened on my most important day of the year, of all times.
I remember leaning on my golf club looking out over the ocean where dark thunder clouds had gathered. If they were any closer, we’d be drenched. You could even hear the thunder echoing far off.
“Thunder in the distance,” I thought to myself. It may sound cheesy, but it was one of the most profound moments of my life.
Friday, while walking to work, I was juggling different column themes in my head, not set on any particular idea. It was the first truly beautiful Halifax day in months. The sky was blue – no clouds.
Remembering my past experience, I took it as a sign. I was going to share my optimism.
Businesses will be okay. I will be okay. You will be okay.
We lived for two years under dark clouds. Now the thunder is in the distance.