So fellow travelers, while I have considered this space as a kind of creative “thinking out loud,” there has always been an underlying hope that my writing has served some purpose beyond my own musings.
If an uplifting haiku, an eye catching photo or a bit of humor brings joy or even insight to some of my readers, I feel I have done my part in making a difference by helping others along on their journey.
Adjusting to the massive changes brought about by the COVID19 pandemic has proven to be more demanding than any of us thought it would be. For me just the switch to online education created an overload of new information to master. There has been little time for myself to relax, let alone write; I had even stopped journaling.
Thankfully, two practices I have maintained are daily meditations and evening gratitudes. That and frequent walks with our dog have kept me sane in a very crazy time, a time which, in the words of therapist Barbara Young, “…is a much longer marathon than we could ever have imagined (becoming) a reality.” I found her words in an article my friend and fellow writer Kate Rantilla shared. As I read it, I realized why I have felt so pressured: I am, as she describes, trying way too hard to “do isolation well.”
Her insights have helped me make sense of my emotions and allowed me to reorganize my intentions with less self-judgment. So, although I rarely share outside sources here, it felt like the best way, at the moment for me to make a bit of difference for you, my fellow travelers.
Barbara Young’s article “What do we do now? can be found here: “https://tinyurl.com/sx2ke7n
Walk gently on the path my friends another time-
for now save lives, stay home and be well.
murisopsis
/ 04/04/2020There hasn’t been a huge change in my normal routine except that I can’t do any “retail therapy” since all the stores are closed. I didn’t even buy things but just the act of going out and walking around – window shopping if you will made me feel better. Now we haven’t done any of that. The biggest adjustment has been not seeing family. We are a close group and had Sunday night ice cream My husband’s parents and 5 of 6 siblings + spouses and all the children and even grandchildren would come over (thankfully not every week as that would be ~44 people)! We would talk and do a jigsaw puzzle and have ice cream and special treats on birthdays.. I do so miss it!