It was nice believing it would only be 40 or less before a vaccine or medicine popped into the world and saved and stabilized us all. Adjusting to this new, unpredictable reality is, and has been, undoubtedly tough, frightening and confusing. As we enter May, I realized I felt as if April simply didn't exist, a month passing by at home feels weird and somehow lost, time is slowly losing meaning while rapidly winning so, in a weird philosophical way I will not dig deeper on here.
It feels like a million years ago when I was happily relaxing by the sea with friends, unaware of how real the COVID-19 issue was getting, and at days it's hard to believe it's only been 50 days, it feels like centuries ago, yet some other days, when thinking about how it's been only 50 days, I feel proud and pretty sane of how I've managed to stay strong given the fact that I've been seeing the same people and doing the same things in the same space over and over. But hey, sane does not mean I've been peppy and happy at all times, as everyone else, I've had my share of mini and not-so-mini breakdowns every now and then.
Worried has been my new normal. Worried about being sick, about loved ones being sick, about my governments terrible approach to this very real situation, about those who are sick and I don't even know, about the economy, about learning enough being home-schooled by a bunch of teachers who are battling just as I am, about my future plans, about how could we continue helping nature after this crisis when fabrics reopen and people go outside, and mainly just about the future of humanity altogether; Yes, I am Miss Worries now a days, but being so doesn't necessarily means I suffer 24/7 or can't have some fun and peace in this new normal, which has taken it's time to set a rhythm and a pace.
At the beginning of the year, I set my mantra to be "Grace not Perfection", a very conscious phrase by the very amazing Emily Ley, I love how this statement encapsules so much, in so little. Me, as a professional perfectionist and detail freak who overthinks "every👏🏻single👏🏻aspect" of "every👏🏻single👏🏻thing" a million times before considering things done, happen to be in need of a huge amount of Grace and self permissiveness to let me simply be and grow confidence in myself. Just considering the amount of time that it took me to get this site out there, which has been in the works since I started college, might give you an idea.
And this dreadful times have given me, among many other things, the huge opportunity of working on my Grace in a brand new never expected way that has proven, after all this days, successful. It's because of this grace working process and pandemic adjusting time, that I hadn't posted here on a long time, and barely on my instagram, it seems as if COVID is an international creativity dementor, that I know has been damaging not only me, but many other creatives out there, and it seems, that the amount of creativity it steals (from myself at least), it returns in the weirdest creepiest way through late night dreams and nightmares. But back to Grace, it is okay to give us time to breathe and understand the situation we're living on, to adjust our daily lives to home school, home office, home everything, and to process mentally the threat we're living in and the transformations our "normal" has been and will continue to have going on. I had a bunch of college related posts, call them templates, ideas, backpack organization tips, or whatever, that simply went down the drain since life does not call for that right now, and sometimes that needs to happen for us to realize that after all, plans are nothing but hopeful ideas and the fullfilment relies on a thousand factors that are completely independent from ourselves. After all, don't they say "If you want to make God laugh you should tell Him your plans?"
Overwhelming productivity is out there, threatening our peace and our Grace constantly, people are constantly sharing the urgency we as species must have of creating the next big thing, becoming a talented guru, making our first million dollars, or whatever else you can imagine, since the time is now that we have plenty of time. This constant reminder of how much we should be doing, can result in us simply blocking down and doing nothing instead, since we are not in a calm position to become our best from one day to the next, and yes, we should be working on growing but that has a process, it's not available for us at the flick of a wand. So, what I've done and what I recommend you do, is embracing the process and growing from it, every day a little more, nurturing ourselves until we are ready to think and act clearly, always allowing us to be, when needed, nothing but the scared little human beings we all are deep down at this time.
What I can share with you now, are some of the key elements that have helped me throughout this 40 days to set a pace, a tempo, a goal and a meaning to all that has been going up to the point where I embrace, accept and enjoy this times we are living truthfully. This tools, as I like to see them, helped me trace a new routine, a very flexible one I might say, contrary to what I believed at the beginning of the pandemic, when I set my days to a strict time table that simply couldn't work, and that has helped me in the most important thing there is for me at this pandemic times, being happy, and gracefull.
1. POST ITS / LISTS
A very smart friend of mine suggested this and has been a very cheerful and reflective thing to do; What you're meant to do is to keep two lists, wether on a notebook, list pad, or using post-it's where you write in one column/color the things you miss the most about life outside, so you have something to look forward to once this is controlled and we may return to the streets (i.e, hug my grandma, go for an ice cream to the park, bring doughnuts for everyone at the office, dinner with friends at our favorite sushi place, weekend lunch with my boyfriend's family, going to school... ); and then, to write the things you're grateful for during this time, so you don't forget them once this goes away (i.e, developed great patience, found joy in running on a treadmill, cooked and perfected a recipe, lived calmly...).
Once you are a week or so into this list making, you'll start appreciating the time you are living in and being more hopeful for the future, a thing I believe we all desperately need.
2. COMMUNITY
Find a way to stay connected with at least one group of friends to have social communication and human contact beyond the ones quarantining with you. Being this much time with the same people is definitely not easy and at times, we need to change airs, listen to other things and other ideas. I've tried to have at least a weekly date with my college friends on zoom, constantly text and call my boyfriend and also have kept attending my weekly virtual meetings from the young church community I belong to, which has been good in order to keep this times more in the hands of God consciously.
3. EXCERCISE
Since a little before this all started I had decided to get a better excercise regime, and honestly there was no better way to get there than with this lockdown. They say a habit is made in 21 days, and I've had twice as that to start my fitness one. At home excercise is great when you know where to look, I've tried a few different options and the best ones for me are:
· Chloe Ting - she has a great amount of different exercises, routines and challenges. Her videos are short yet strong and when done according to the calendar from her website, really functional. I've done the 2 week abs shredding program and loved it, now I do the abs daily on top of other routines.
· Pure Barre on Demand - This classes are a great, easy and fun way of getting to know the barre method, and I believe a great replacement for those of you who are used to going to a studio and are more advanced. I had never taken barre in my life and Carly posted about it on her stories so I decided to, and loved it. You could never believe the amount of muscle ache and strengthening that comes from such soothing movements and repetitions. I can't wait to try real life classes once we can go out. This however, needs a subscription, YET they are gifting a two month free trial with the code: extendedtrial, only make sure to cancel (in case you won't be willing to pay) at the end of month one, or else you'll be charged.
· Fit Body Co. - I had signed up for the program one week before COVID, and finished it happily. This program is based on three daily routines focusing on sculpting and losing weight, plus a delicious protein powder you can drink with water, or use to make great shakes or waffles. I personally love the Matcha and Chocolate ones. The program also includes stretching bands and the routines are posted weekly on a facebook group where you can find recipes and use as a community. It works great, yet if you are not in Mexico or not interested in the protein powder you might as well find other good routines out there, for free. Even though I love the protein taste, I found that I prefer natural protein intake during this time since I do have time for breakfast and would rather use my portions with "rea"l food.
· Peloton - Last but definitely not least, Peloton. This by far has been my favorite workout go-to. I had tried before the cycling classes at my gym yet do not have any of their equipment on my house, still, I have a treadmill and follow along the classes on my iPad. I had never before thought I was a runner at heart, but I've come to realize I love running, the way the coaches explain running and take you step by step is a game changer, listening to them talk and the great music selection makes minutes fly by while running and leaves you with a happy endorphin charged glow and positive mindset that has become my favorite part of the day. If you haven't taken a Becs Gentry class, please go take one asap. She's my favorite, still they all are great!
Besides the tread and bike classes, they have a great variety of machine-free ones like strength, core, yoga, stretching and even meditation. And the great news, is they have as well a free subscription going on for two or three months, so go check them out.
4. CREATIVITY
As I mentioned before, creativity hasn't been really on my side during this whole time, and due to this I looked up different solutions that might spark that flame inside of me again, and the ones I enjoy the most are:
· Skillshare - I subscribed to skillshare in January and found out the great amount of classes they offer, I decided to stick with it for a year. So far I've learned to pattern on Procreate, create fonts, and many more things. They are offering 2 months for free.
· MAE - Making Art Everyday is an Instagram project by artist Lisa Bardot, she posts daily promts for illustrations and this really help me warm up or just get something going when I am in no mood for drawing, or lack inspiration.
· Denim Painting - I've finally started denim painting, I made a custom jacket for Sand will be gifting him for my birthday tomorrow. (A weird tradition of ours, we give each other micro gifts on the other one's birthdays .. there's a not so logical but funny story behind that). Anyways, I'll post another journal entry for it and will talk process, results and recommendations for you to try.
· Masterclass - S and me have been eyeing the masterclasses for a while now and have decided upon subscribing soon, with the get one gift one promo. I've been particularly eyeing the Anna Wintour, Gordon Ramsay and Bobbi Brown ones, among many others. Expect a review soon.
5. COOKING & BAKING
One of the things I really miss about days without work was the little extra time and energy to cook. I've never actually been consistent and the majority of things I do are cupcakes and cookies, but I've put time into cooking for my family new recipes and full courses at least once a week and love spending time in the kitchen. There are so many great recipes out there and restaurants are sharing some, so are chefs and cafes, I'll share some of my favorites on other posts later on! Also, please do share in case you have some good ones.
So lastly, I can only add that we're all in this together yet each one at our own pace, there is no right or wrong during this time, there is no productivity standard, maybe resting is what's best for you today, maybe it's running 10 miles, or creating a new company. We need to be good to ourselves, listen to what we really need and simply flow with the world. Everyone is mourning something or someone during this time, some could be mourning family members, other bankrupt companies, some other may just be mourning lost plans and big days, and we all have the right to suffer and feel what we are feeling, yet, as a wise woman once made a wise man say,
“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
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