Crisis Mode

Dear friends,

I was looking for inspiration for my blog post earlier this month, then Covid-19 happened! The whole world slowly grounded to a halt in a matter of weeks. Countries imposed lockdowns, schools closed, businesses shut and people self-quarantining themselves. Amidst all the fear, confusion and uncertainty, this crisis is also making room for good things to happen. I believe this pandemic is a much-needed wake-up call for humanity. Collectively, we need to do our part to slow down the virus from spreading by social distancing ourselves, but that does not mean that it is all loom and gloom.

The way I look at it, the word CRISIS can be viewed this way:

C is for Creation and Creativity

Binge-watching Netflix and being on social media all day is not the solution to our boredom indoors. Let's get busy creating things and being creative instead. This is an opportunity to learn something new or create something meaningful. E.g. Learn how to make bread. Cook with limited ingredients. Work on an art project. Start gardening. Write that song out. Create a new Podcast. Write a blog post. :)

R is for Reflection

What a bloody good time to start reflecting on how fragile life can be! Who and what is important to you in your life right now? Is it health? Is it family? Is it a community? Is it money or status? Is it being an Influenza, I mean, Influencer? Right now, all I care about is my family and our health, both mentally and physically. Lately, I have been focusing a lot more on my self-care; doing HIIT workouts, yoga and meditation keeps me sane. Also, writing in my journal and my blog helps to ground me and put things in perspective.

I is for Interaction

I saw a neighbour sticking his head out on the balcony chatting to his neighbour downstairs, which is something that we hardly notice anymore. This crisis made me think, how well do I know my neighbours? I rarely interact with them as we all have different schedules. The lockdown means we will have more opportunity to see and help each other out. Another thing we can do more is to check in on our family and friends and be there for each other. Just the other day, I received a message from a cousin that I have not spoken or seen in ages. It was so heart-warming that she even cared to send me a message.

S is for Slow-The-Fuck-Down

I used to ask a friend over Whatsapp how she was, and her reply is always "Busy" so I stopped asking her. Why ask when I already know the answer. We tend to overfill our calendars with meetings, appointments, gatherings and to-do-lists to keep busy for the sake of being busy. So we are always rushing from one place to another and we forget to enjoy everyday moments. I think this crisis can help us slow down and be more present with the little moments like enjoying our cup of coffee without our phones or noticing spring flowers.

I is for Innovation

We are so lucky that we live in a time where we can teach our kids using technology. We can homeschool them with countless resources available to us in an instant and guide them through interest-based learning instead of the traditional school curriculum. We can get ideas on how to entertain our kids with and without screens.

Companies are forced to look at ways of working online for their operations to continue and new business models are popping up to cater to the latest market demands. For example, a friend of mine who owns a yoga studio decided to stream their lessons online for their members, and they lowered the monthly membership fee. Not only can they continue teaching yoga, but they can now reach a wider audience by being online.

S is for Self- Sufficiency

The lockdown made me think about what we will do if we can't get food from the supermarket, do we have to start growing our own food in our small garden? And if we can't go to the bakery anymore, we will have to make our own bread and cakes. We will have to rely on ourselves and go back to basics. The basics of human survival. Perhaps the off-grid hippies are right after all?

Sure, there are many downsides to this crisis, deaths, mental health and economic recession. And it will take a long time before things become normal again. But positive things have come up with every crisis too. This change will keep us on our toes and remind us to be grateful for the simplest things. It gives us a chance to simplify our way of life, to make and give time for what truly matters.

Stay strong, my friends!

Love & light,

Marisa x