'Normal' is not boring is a lesson we should all acknowledge

The last few months have led many people to reconsider the value of many simple and "normal" things that they used to take for granted, and I am no exception.

Simple things like going to visit friends, going to a restaurant or having a nice trip to a scenic spot. During the novel coronavirus outbreak many of us had been eager to do things that we had previously never even really given that much thought, or had totally taken for granted.

I like cycling, sometimes quite long distances, so the situation didn't really affect that (apart from getting used to wearing a face mask while riding the bike). In fact, cycling was quite a good way to exercise during the outbreak as you are always at a reasonable distance from other people and moving at a decent speed which ensures there is always a good circulation of air around you. Also, my cycling took me to places further outside the city, so I would be in more open spaces and be at a greater distance from other people.

But some of the "normal" destinations of my cycling trips that I previously took for granted were off limits for a while: the excellent parks on the outskirts of Beijing, such as the Baiwangshan Forest Park and the Olympic Forest Park.

And even when those venues did reopen to the public, with the correct safety precautions enforced, I was still reluctant to return to them as I wasn't keen on going anywhere that could be unreasonably busy or crowded.

Therefore, something I did a few days ago marked an important step in my own personal return to "normal". I ventured back to the Olympic Forest Park for the first time since the start of the lockdown and the closure of public venues.

Before the outbreak I was a regular visitor to that wonderful scenic location with its 10km running track, and could be found there almost every week. So it was a great feeling to be able to enjoy something which I had previously taken for granted, and this means that I value it so much more than before.

And that gradual return to the "normal" which we used to take for granted but now consider to be so valuable has also recently manifested itself in some other ways.

On Sunday, June 7, I walked through the main entrance of my workplace. What's so remarkable about that, you may ask? Well, that was the first time in several months it was possible to do that without the mandatory temperature check, as the risk level had been lowered in Beijing. It lasted for around one week until the outbreak related to the city's Xinfadi wholesale market was recorded.

Things are guaranteed to be different when the world eventually gets through this arduous period, but many lessons will also be learnt: important lessons on hygiene and public health. Another lesson which I hope people will learn, as I have, is that "normal" is not boring, "normal" is not dull, and "normal" is most certainly not something we should merely take for granted.

"Normal" is something to be treasured and valued, for when we experience times that we are denied the gift of "normality", we come to cherish it all the more.