Words from the heart in these incredible times.
It’s interesting in these times that when we speak with people- friends, family or even the neighbour across the street we ask “how are you?”- I even do it myself without considering what answer am I expecting!
It is an Australian traditional greeting which we all use without thinking about the response we might get which is usually “yeah good, OK” or something similar.
Right now I am working on rephrasing this question and my answer because the reality is I am fine but not fine. I am great but not great. I haven’t got any real news and the conversation will ultimately come back to ‘the Corona virus’.
My stress management techniques such as reflection, meditation, exercise, connecting with others etc are coming in handy but when restricted to the house and garden apart from a daily excursion outdoors, it is normal to start to feel a little antsy.
When this all started to emerge I went into a little forward planning. First thing a holiday with friends in May is probably going to be delayed- this escalated days later when Italy went into lockdown followed by the awful dilemma with cruise ships and quite quickly I knew I was not going on that romantic adventure through Italy and cruising around the Greek Islands. To tell the truth the way I feel right now I probably won’t be going anywhere near a cruise ship and if I have the luxury of travel in the future then it will be all on Aussie turf.
As the crisis unfolded my motherly protective instincts closed in and I have to work hard here as I control my feelings about the future of my adult children and young grandchildren. The fact that my daughter has a beautiful new baby growing and due to meet us in late May is both a delight and concern but I must dig deep to be supportive and strong as we navigate these uncertain times.
My family are still working however there is a positive and negative feeling here as each day they venture outside there is a heightened risk.
The amazing community my daughter and I have grown with at Alive Yoga & Pilates is on hold right now- we pressed pause. On March 23 we closed our doors, albeit temporarily, but it was quite ironic that due to unrelated circumstances Lauren and I taught the last 2 classes on this day! We chatted at a distance with the beautiful people who came to participate and lamented about what might be. We shed a tear as our emotions and appreciation of what we had was shared. We had bought the last big bottle of hand sanitizer for a while! We have agreed that at this time we both need to take a big deep breath before galloping into the online space or other creative concepts- it’s simply too early for us right now. I feel quite connected but disconnected as the social aspect of our life is stripped back to bare necessity right now. Face time and Zoom have become household words together with social isolation and the constant washing hands just in case we have touched a contaminated surface. I think I am driving my husband a little crazy!
The most important thing for me right now is to stay healthy- in fact get even healthier. I have never been a big fruit eater but committed to a daily dose of Vitamin C. I have always enjoyed cooking to some degree but now I have time I am cooking more meals from scratch and finding the planning and preparation quite soothing. Of course dinner time usually coincides with the 6pm News which I usually avoid in normal times but we have agreed to watch the headlines to remain informed and then switch it off or over so I avoid the padding of an hour of media- this is sure to give me indigestion and is counter-productive to the absorption of goodness from my meal.
I am drinking lots of warm to hot water instead of the usual icy cold sparkling which I like. I heard this from an Aryvedic practitioner Dylan Smith -vitalvedic. He suggested the warm to hot water helped to lubricate the mouth and respiratory tract as well as killing off any germs. This advice came before the virus outbreak. He also recommended daily tongue scraping as a first thing to do each morning before food or drink. This rids the toxins which have accumulated overnight in the mouth and then rinse with some warm water. I have a regular meditation practice each morning and I am finding I am drifting into longer practice than usual simply because I don’t have to be anywhere at any particular time. I use stillness based mindfulness meditation – see Ian Gawler foundation meditation. I also vary it with some meditation music or sometimes a guided practice all which are easily found on Youtube.
My husband laughs when he arrives home from work around 10.00am (he works with horses so starts early) and I am often in my pyjamas but I have usually been productive with some admin work, a yoga or pilates based practice with the puppy jumping on me and the washing hung out to dry in the sunshine.
Long walks and time in the garden are both therapeutic at this time for me and it is ironic that I had decided to plant a small veggie plot in February and now it is the fashion. I had to laugh when earlier this week I messaged my son-in-laws mother is who is an avid gardener and asked what I could do about the bugs on my broccoli seedlings. She responded with a gift of some home-made chilli spray which we swapped with a lovely fresh bag of stable manure for her compost.
A drive by visit from my daughter and the grandchildren was an absolute delight earlier this week and as they pulled into the driveway we waved from afar and made silly games of hide and seek while they hung out of the window laughing. Our 5 year old asked if she could high five and when we said probably not- “is that because of the Corona virus nana?” it breaks my heart just a little.
Children are such joy and so resilient to what is happening. We can learn so much from them which will serve us to manage in these times. Spending time telling stories, drawing and laughing at fart jokes all bring a little sunshine in our lives and I keep reminding myself of all of these times, never taking any for granted. These times teach us to be more mindful of what is really important to us in life. What do we need, how much do we need to accumulate and how are we treating our magnificent body; physical, mental and emotional. Love to all and see you on the flip side.
Pam Wheatley