Opinion: Argyll and Bute Council leader Aileen Morton

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We’re now more than half way through 2020 and at this point I think many of us may be wondering where the year got to…

Some days in lockdown felt like they were never-ending, but all of a sudden you realised that April, and then May, had gone by, and you couldn’t quite work out how that had happened.

With the easing of lockdown in June and July the days started to have a bit more variety, and now that the schools are returning it does feel much more like a return to “normal”.

Realistically, though, we are still quite far away from knowing what normal is going to be in the future!

LATEST HEADLINES: Plea for rethink over council plan to shut public toilets across Argyll and Bute

Will we all still be wearing masks in shops in five years’ time?

Will foreign travel continue to carry the risk of late-notice quarantine requirements?

What will city centres look like if working at home becomes the standard for the majority of workers who are currently office-based?

I think there’s definitely a need to try and take a “what’s fur ye will no’ go by ye” approach to life at the moment.

READ MORE: Opinion: It's great to see some sort of normal in Helensburgh at last

Trying to predict how a virus will behave or what decisions a government will take is one way to drive yourself mad. And trying to predict, or control, how other people will behave is just as difficult.

Even as we recognise the positives of lockdown easing we’re all aware of issues where people are behaving inappropriately – from failing to observe social distancing in pubs, to breaking quarantine requirements, to leaving beauty spots damaged and litter-strewn.

It’s such a shame to see this kind of behaviour but, as usual, it is a tiny minority who are behaving in this way and that should always be borne in mind.

Ultimately, we CAN control our own choices.

We can decide whether to focus on the positive or the negative.

READ MORE: Opinion: We all have a moral and legal duty to keep one another safe

We can decide whether to engage in social media arguments.

We can decide who to spend our leisure time with.

If the Covid-19 pandemic has any lesson for us, then I think “enjoying what you have” is probably the most important one.

For most of us the pandemic has radically altered our lives but for far too many it has taken lives.

Enjoy the life you have, no matter how far current circumstances may be from the ideal.

READ MORE: Catch up with all the latest Helensburgh and Lomond news headlines by clicking here