For all you people who haven't done this before...

For all you people who haven't done this before.

This is how it might feel when (or if) the world starts up again.

It will be sensory overload. Lights and sounds and movement will all seem overwhelming. Crowds will be claustrophobic. It's be hard to distinguish the important from the unimportant details. It will be hard to concentrate, to center on your sense of self. You'll want to retreat the quiet and solitude of your house.

Welcome to my world.

When I'm writing, I force myself to go for a walk in the wilderness at least once a day. I go into the store at least once a week. Sometimes I feel a little cornered, but mostly it's a comfortable place to be reacquainted with the outside. Thankfully I have a wife and the chaos cat to bring randomness and unpredictability into my everyday life.

I remember once, about 40 years ago or so, when I was so deep into writing my first book, Star Axe, that I hadn't ventured out of my tiny apartment in days--maybe weeks. My friend Wes came to visit and he took me outside and it felt absolutely disorienting. The smallest sounds seemed sharp, the lights seemed blinding. The world whirled by, impossibly fast. It wasn't pleasant and I decided then and there that I wouldn't let myself go that far down the rabbit hole again.

There's a saying--"Isolation breeds isolation."

So get outside if you can, and talk to people, even if it from across the street, if you can. For most of you, it won't be that bad probably, but you might feel a little bit of that.