Survival Mode for the Pandemic
This is about survival. The time to start thinking differently is now. We each need to put in place routines that help us to cope with what is going on. Psychologically speaking, this is different to anything we have experienced before. We are going to need all our mental resources, this will be about mental strength.
Life is going into Lockdown
Yesterday evening, Boris Johnson addressed the nation via recorded message. He was different to his usual jovial Boris-the-buffoon act, his tone sombre and his words scripted. The whole thing was yet another occurrence subsequently described as ‘unprecedented’.
The British population has not seen restrictions to its way of life as strict as this since a world war spanned the globe many decades ago. If you hadn’t previously clocked onto the fact that we are living through something profoundly serious before, then you have to start paying attention now.
The sheer scale of it All
The scale of this rapidly unfolding pandemic cannot be understated. As of now, the global infection rate is in the hundreds of thousands. If you are reading this later than the month of March 2020 then it may be a great deal higher.
The worrying thing is that we are not just being infected and spreading some benign cough or cold. It can prove lethal to many, and the barrage of cases requiring intensive care treatment in hospitals has already overwhelmed health services in continental countries.
The issue of isolation
Enforcing people to observe social distancing by making it mandatory to stay at home is not a perfect solution. It plays into the hands of domestic abusers and controlling partners and puts a huge amount of weight on any previously strained relationships. The policy also isolates many. Yet, I believe it is the right course of action and should have happened sooner in this country.
Daily Questions Practice
As we spend an increasing amount of time in our own company or the company of our families, it is vitally important that we make helpful daily routines. My cousin in Ireland sent me a list of daily questions, I’m unsure who the original author is, but they seem like decent questions to ask oneself each day.
- What am I grateful for today?
- Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?
- What expectations of normal am I letting go of today?
- How am I getting outside today?
- How am I moving my body today?
- What beauty am I either creating, cultivating, or inviting in today?
Rose, Rose, Thorn, Bud
A practice that I picked up from an episode of the Knowledge Project, is called Rose, Rose, Thorn, Bud. When there is at-least two of you gathered, go around the group with each person in turn making statements as follows;
Each person first says one thing they are grateful for (rose), then go around the group again and each person says another thing they are grateful for (a second rose). The third time go around and each person says something they are worried about (thorn). Finally go around the group, and each person says something they are optimistic about (bud).
Keeping a journal or Diary
I have written before about the importance of keeping a journal. It can often be a good coping mechanism and also a great source of inspiration or reflection in later times. It doesn’t have to be a great work of literature, just a few notes about each day. What happened, or your thoughts, random or serious.
The content is not too important, it is more that you get the words out on a daily basis that matters. If you aren’t too concerned with what you actually write then perhaps the site 750words.com may be for you. It is a website where you type continuously for 750 words each day. I used it for a while, a couple of years back to get through some writer’s block.
Final Thought
Obviously, getting through the next weeks and months will take more than asking questions and regularly writing things down, but implementing practices such as these represents a good starting point. Take care people.
Excellent post, friend. Thank you. Peace to you during these bizarre times. 🕊