Are you controlling the quarantine, or is the quarantine controlling you?

As the quarantine  continues, I find my friends and family in varying states of emotional  health.  Some of my friends lost their jobs and are trying to figure out  unemployment.  Some of my friends are worried about losing their  business and trying to get an SBA Loan.  Some of my friends are working  18+ hour days trying to uncover new ways of doing business.  Some of my  friends are heading to work at the hospital, overworked and wondering if  today is they day they get infected.  Some of my friends are  questioning the seriousness of the disease.  Others are grieving the  loss of a loved one who passed from the virus, and upset they were not  able to be there to say their goodbyes upon risking infection.   Times  like these bring out the best in people!  People are donating blood,  volunteering to make masks and take food to those who can't get out.   Times like these also bring out the worst in people.  I read the stories  about idiots coughing on produce at grocery stores, spitting on  packages, and scammers preying on those wanting a cure from Corona  Virus.  

 

We  can not control this virus situation, but we can control how we react  to the things that are happening around us.  These are some things I've  done to keep my spirits up:

1)  Limit news watching to 30 minutes a day.  Every time they came up with a  new symptom, I kept watching for it until I'm sitting thinking I'm 5  days from death because I have a runny nose, when all I need to do is  take a Zyrtec!  Cutting down on the news forced me to do something else.  

2)  I  spend 1-2 hours a day learning something new.  Right now, I'm doing  trainings with Wix on how to build websites.  I've made significant  improvements in my websites every day, and learning how to do business  differently so I remain on the cutting edge.  This new email program is  one of those changes!

3)   I spend 1 hour a day working out.  The place I take dance lessons at  moved all their classes to Zoom, so every day I log in and take a  class.  Just moving that little bit keeps my mood up and I sleep better.

4)   With most restaurants being closed, Doug and I have been cooking and  preparing interesting, healthy dishes.  I've gotten to try all kinds of  new dishes which I might not have otherwise tried because "we were too  busy" to cook.

5)   I make time to reach out to loved ones.  Last Sunday I held a Zoom  conference call, and 15 people chimed in from all over the country.   This is not something I would have done prior to the quarantine because  "I was too busy before."  Not only did it lift up my spirits, but it  lifted theirs up too.

6)   I make sure I take my vitamins and get plenty of rest, at least 7 hours  a night, in order to keep my immunity as strong as possible.  

 

The  Corona Virus has been a curse in many ways, and yet in others, it has  been a gift.  All those things I always wanted to do but never had time  for?  I'm doing them now.  Every day I'm reminded as to what is truly  important in life.  Nothing should be taken for granted.  Keeping this  attitude of gratitude and positive mindset is the best way to see the  creative possibilities available to us in this new (and hopefully  temporary) way of life.

 

~Traci

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A Life Lesson from The Lotus Blossom

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Covid-19 and Grief