COVID-19: Shaken, not stirred

In lieu of it being National Alcohol Awareness Month, I thought it would be cheeky to use a mixing analogy to speak to the changes due to COVID-19.  Little did I know, however, when I started to research this phrase that its history originated with James Bond.  Who doesn’t love a little James Bond montage starting with Sean Connery?  You can go down the Google rabbit hole of reading more of the reason why James Bond supposedly requested dry martinis “shaken, not stirred” over the years, but what I found more interesting in it all was what the actual phrase meant.

According to Collins Dictionary the way this phrase reads is:

“If you say that someone has been shaken but not stirred by an experience, you mean that they have been slightly disturbed or emotionally affected by it, but not deeply enough to change their behaviour or way of thinking.”

Although I’d like to say I’m shaken by the impact of COVID-19 in my professional and personal life, the reality is that it’s most likely been stirred.  I think mid-February I might have said I was “shaken but not stirred” and yet with it being the end of April, I have been emotionally affected by this to deeply change my behavior and way of thinking.  COVID-19 has made its imprint on me, and the world.  This is not something we’ll be able to just move on from.  Returning to normal is not a thing, as normal is different.

We will eventually return to being less careful.  We will return to a time of enjoying entertainment unphased.  We will return to a life of imbibing that feels carefree and lighthearted.  Yet, in the back of our minds we will be reminded that we have been stirred, not shaken by COVID-19.

For questions or comments contact Joanna.