APRIL 2020: 2020 Vision?

So much has changed with COVID-19! We find ourselves living slower than we ever expected to be living right now. I feel that some of us have travelled back in time.

Food basics are flying off the grocery shelves. Comfort foods have become more important to us than ever. Baking bread from scratch is all the rage! We find time to reach out to long ago friends and family members who we haven’t spoken with in a while.  

The children are home from school. Families are playing more board games. Parents are “home schooling” and soon, they will oversee assignments that come from teachers, via e-mail or on a web browser. 

This virus is even slowing down dating online. People are having prolonged conversations before they can get together for a “real” date. With coffee shops and restaurants closed, they are arranging ‘virtual’ candle lit dinners. Getting to know each other while physically distancing for the time being. 

And technology is helping us with all of these things. I google new recipes to find out how to use up leftovers. Can’t waste any food these days! My granddaughter plays Pictionary with her friend over FaceTime! I join virtual coffee dates with neigbours and arrange ‘pot luck’ dinners with single friends who remain in isolation. 

We are using webinars to bring people together for Spoken Lives Online. At this time of physical distancing, social cohesion is more important that ever. Our second event is this Wednesday, April 8th. Tickets are on a pay what you can basis as we know that each person has been impacted differently. Please join us if you can? You will hear 4 stories from wonderful women! 

I want to remind you that rainbows come and go. Yes, things look pretty dreadful, today. We will invent new ways to earn money. We will discover new ways to connect. We may continue to cocoon with the people we love after the worst is over. Or, we may choose to change our inner circle. 

Who knows what will happen next? But, I predict a baby boom in December!  We may even learn to enjoy a slower pace. Only time will tell. Control your pre-worrying?

An important piece to finding peace is to focus on the present. Curb those negative thoughts. Put them in their rightful place! We are healthy. We are wise. We are loved. Thank your immune system. Ask for help if you want it. There are neighbours, friends and agencies ready to lend a hand. Search for a support group online. Distract yourself by helping someone else. Or, volunteer for an agency helping our marginally housed population. Sew face masks. The Kids Help Line needs people to volunteer for their phone lines.

Please take time for self care? Bubble baths. Get out in nature. Nurture your body and mind. Take action steps in a new direction. One friend has spent a couple of hours each day cleaning and organising and told me that they are happier than they have been in over a decade! Another friend is reducing their weight by controlling the food that comes into their home. Not me – although I’m eating well, I’m also eating chocolate every day! Self care looks different to each of us! 

What do you want to change as a result of COVID-19? What’s your edited vision for 2020? Mine has changed significantly, with my business and retirement funds each being reduced. I am still on the look out for the silver lining. And, I’m open to seeing one. I remind myself that I’m only in charge of what is within my control. I read a good book for a short escape.  

I am so grateful to live in Canada and that our government trusts the scientists and is investing in each and every Canadian who lives here. Lets make the best of this very tough situation. Control what is within our grasp. And, please ask for help if you need it?