Thursday 26 March 2020
There is so much I wanted to write … and it all seems trivial and weak and pointless.
I struggle to find anything meaningful to say …
New Zealand is in lock down. Many countries are in lock down (those that aren’t should be!). It’s surreal. It’s huge. It’s massive.
What can I say that has any real value or benefit???
So I will share with you how I think we can get through this, the things I believe we need to keep at the forefront of our mind all day long.
- Be kind.
- Be patient.
- Be loving.
- Be tolerant.
- Be respectful.
- Be helpful.
- Be supportive.
- Have fun with those you are with. Share concerns, keep communication open.
- Take this time to sit in quiet, in contemplation, meditation, mindfulness.
- Take time to do some gardening, to tend your plants.
- Be present with your pets, and those you share your home with.
- Read.
- Write.
- Watch a movie.
- If you look out your window and see your neighbour, wave!
- Use social media to keep in touch with people and as a way to keep your friends uplifted so that they do not feel alone. Social media has a valued role to play.
- Do not criticise or condemn other people, do not slip into negative behaviour or thought patterns. They will not make you feel good!
- Be positive, uplifted, look for things to appreciate and be grateful for, even if it is just a cloud in the sky, or the warmth of sunshine.
Our thoughts are very important, and they act as a magnet to more of the same. If we slip into negative thinking we will attract more things to make us feel negative. If we focus on positive thoughts we will attract me things that make us feel positive. And the beauty here is: our thoughts are under our control!!
So, choose your thoughts wisely!
We have been told to stay at home. Yes we are allowed to go out for a walk around the block or the neighbourhood, but please be wise on this and don’t start going out more than you normally would! We can go to the supermarket to buy food, but make sure you really need to. Look at your cupboards and use up what you already have. Make scones, soups, muffins, cake, bread, frittata … drink water, tea, coffee.
I stocked up on things, so even if I end up eating all of that until I am down to beans on rice, that is just fine with me!!! It is a time to eat simply, to live simply.
I think that is one of the things that is important to me, to take this opportunity to live simply (oh, and to do a vast amount of writing too!!) I am going to make things very simple for myself. And in so doing, I allow calm to enter every area of my life.
I cannot go to work. But I have four weeks of self isolation to write, to think, to evolve.
I have a novel which I was going to self publish this year … but perhaps I will offer to sell it as individual chapters $1 each via email … but that would have to be limited to NZ because I don’t have facilities to take overseas money. But it’s a thought …
Who am I when I am alone in my house? What am I when all else is stripped away? These are the questions I ask of myself.
In what beautiful way will I change over the weeks ahead?
My four weeks is in my own hands … and so … let us see how the weeks unfurl …
In self-isolation we stop the spread … but cases will spike because the spread has been happening up until this isolation period. Do not feel disheartened when you see cases rising. It is merely that the symptoms of those already infected have had time to reveal themselves, and it does not mean our isolation is not working. Cases will rise, and then, there will come a time when the number of new cases diagnosed will begin to decrease. We are going into self-isolation to achieve that decrease.
(Pic attached … me in my pyjamas, working at my desk since it is National Pyjamas Day!!!)