Belgians walk away their corona lockdown blues
Because their lifes have been completely turned upside down since the second outbreak of the corona crisis, many Belgians are looking for a way out, doing things they have seldom done before. Some discover new passions like art or reading, others put their body and soul into sport… But a majority of people apparently have decided to dedicate their lockdown spare time to walking.
Walking is a simple and basic activity that most people do without really paying attention. You walk from point A to point B to go to work and do your shopping but you seldom take the time to really walk and appreciate that. Walking in a forest, strolling in a park and enjoying nature are things that had most people had forgotten about in our modern society. The only positive point of this lockdown has undoubtedly been to reconnect people with nature.
Indeed, since the new measures in November that kept people at home all day, the parks and forests in Belgium have never been so full of crowd. This desire to explore wildlife also probably comes from the fact that most people need to reconnect with nature and find a peaceful angle in the chaos that is our society today.
Sportive shoes and hiking boots
Even economy seems to profit from this. Decathlon’s online sales have doubled since the beginning of the lockdown. The 32 Decathlon shops in Belgium are all closed. But online sales are continuing, and quite well. «From 5,000 to 6,000 orders per day before the lockdown, we have now increased to 12,000 orders per day», says Julien Dechamps, Co-Director at Decathlon Belgium. Even more surprising is that these very high sales have been maintained over time. These sales mainly concern running and walking articles, such as running shoes, warm walking clothes and hiking boots.
«We can really see a difference between the pre-lockdown and the lockdown period.» People are turning more to sports and walking than they do in a normal time. This is one of the only permitted outdoor activities left to do. So the question no longer arises. For most people, the only way out is to go outside and walk around without any real objective other than to enjoy the beautiful autumn weather.
Reconnecting with nature
Sports and walking in particular are very important at this time to keep a healthy mind and avoid mental breakdown. Indeed, with all the bad news, the arrival of the cold, the sun going down early… most people tend to get depressed in this period even more in 2020. Doing sports and walking outside while observing nature can be very beneficial to maintain good mental health.
Caroline Janssen, mother of two children and an adept of walking in the forest shares her feelings on the current situation: “During the lockdown, I try to walk every day with my two children to avoid a threatening depression.”
«When these new measures were announced again for an indefinite period, I thought that our days should remain structured. There should also be time for outdoor physical activity. I challenged both my kids for trying to walk outside every day for at least 30 minutes per day. «The idea, although they found it absurd, appealed to them.»
Walking, with so little constraint, without equipment or any technique, is a good way of spending energy while reconnecting with nature and it also allows to think and clear your mind. Walking is also to create, to conceive another way of thinking. Seeing things differently is a learning process that requires detaching oneself from habits, from reflexive thinking, from everyday life. So it’s good for your mind and body and it can only be a benefit.
Janssen: «Two weeks later, walking had become a habit and we had also noticed that our usual track was gradually filling up with people. By now, many people have started walking and it is nice to see them outside, but if you go into the woods or parks the aim is also not to see crowds of people. » So we can wonder if the forests and parks are not under threat with all the people who are starting to love nature again?
Indeed, this new passion is not necessarily an advantage for nature because with a large number of people passing through the forest, they can destroy the fauna and flora and also frighten the animals. Moreover, being in lockdown the aim is not to move the population from the city centre on Saturday afternoon to the park, because in this case the lockdown serves nothing except to destroy the economy of the country.
Perhaps these restrictions have reconnected people to nature and in the near future they will be more environmentally conscious. This is a hope shared by many people but in the meantime some people continue to throw their masks on the ground in the park after finishing their walk. Humanity will never cease to surprise us.
