Retrograde Abbey has a saying, “You go live your best life.” She says it whenever one of us leaves the office, whether it’s for the day or for something as mundane as running a quick errand or grabbing lunch. While it’s an awesome saying anytime, given our new normal it’s even more pertinent.
This week we’ve seen more states and several countries issue stay at home orders for all non-life essential businesses. Many of these businesses, including ours, now have folks working remotely. This sudden change has been unsettling, and most people are still working to adapt to it.
Being someone that tries to find the positive in any situation, I believe this provides a huge opportunity. Don’t misunderstand, I know how difficult a time this is. We want to go out and see people and have conversations and connect. The stay at home mandate has required me to get creative ?. So far, I have done 2 virtual happy hours, and I am sure I will do more to help satisfy my need to socialize.
Back to the positive slant on all this. Think about all the extra time you now have because you don’t commute, you can’t go out and socialize, or even run errands. Now is the perfect time to catch up on that book, finish that home project, binge watch that show everyone talks about, pick up a hobby, learn to play an instrument, develop a deeper connection with family or even clean the bathroom!
When I first started writing this blog, I would often share other people’s work, such as lists or stories. I got away from it, but I recently saw this poem written by retired schoolteacher Kitty O’Meara. She wrote this untitled poem to battle her own anxiety during these trying times. I thought it fit.
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”
I would love to hear what new things you are doing. What’s on your bucket list of things to accomplish? At the end of all this goofiness what will you regret not having done?
So once again, “You go live your best life.” – Abbey “Retrograde” Potts.
Have a great weekend.
Vijay