REMEMBER TO LIVE.

As the collective distancing and shared quarantines are appearing to maintain some level of societal order, there is a new veiled 'order' coming to life as a result. One which is giving way to a psychological and emotional companionless dissonance. It is a deep seed of ambiguity growing in the core of our life's root systems.

We are having to rewrite the manuals of our personal well beings.

Private stress levels are escalating at a pandemic rate. Yes, though we are all in this situational Titanic together, there is a pervasive panic 'to get to the lifeboats' first before anyone else. The empty shelves of paper products and waterless soaps at supermarkets, and zooming drivers on the motorways are basal shadows of this disconcerting pandemonium. Media platforms are feeding us with information like drug dealers supplying opiates to addicts. Concerns are mounting over the next paychecks, possible layoffs, mounting bills, forced togetherness of children and parents and alienating separation of the elderly and single people. Our sense of spatial and somatic stability is at stake here.

How do we cope?

What do we do? How do we survive? And do we dare to go as far as to think that we can actually thrive in this alienating atmosphere? How do we archive the toll that this unexpected divorce from our normal routines is taking on our daily functionality?

It's like we're living inside the H.G. Wells novel, The War of the Worlds. There is a quote in the book, “people were rubbing their eyes...to stare out and ask questions, and getting dressed quickly as the first breath of the coming storm of fear blew through the streets. It was the beginning of the great panic.”

In the novel, people lacked the answers to defeat the lethal pathogens of their invaders. In our case, we are lacking the physical and psychological remedies to defeat our lethal invader, the Covid-19 virus and it's attack on our psyches. As a result, we are turning to our TVs, and scrolling endlessly through social media to see what to feel, how to think and what to do next. We must STOP feeding ourselves the panic laced drug of 'repeated information'. Instead, we need to live, breathe, believe, and make personal decisions through our own reasonable sensibilities.

There are a million and one varied opinions about the politics behind this outbreak, but there is one truth we can all agree on, that these are punishing times. Undeniably!

And we must find a new way for this new time.

So where do we start?

We begin by taking baby steps. By replacing all the things that are causing us anxiety with activities which are guaranteed to bring us peace of mind and presence of heart.

Here is an 'INSTEAD OF' list of replaceable activities :

- Instead of reading 10s, even 100s of posts each day, start reading a good book.

- Instead of watching repeated news on the tele, watch a movie or a mini-series. (Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have us well supplied).

- Instead of watching the 'circus' news on FOX or CNN to get your facts on the virus spread, go to unbiased news sources, such as AP (The Associated Press), WSJ (The Wall Street Journal), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), etc.

- Instead of staying in your night clothes all day, change into your day clothes to do your jobs from home. (And change back into your comfort clothes as soon as you've finished your work tasks).

- Instead of sitting lethargically on the sofa, paralyzed with confusion for hours, take a deliberate daily walk or run around the neighborhood or in nature to invigorate your body. (The bees and birds are still flying and singing).

- Instead of fighting the afternoon exhaustion, give-in to a proper one hour siesta/nap. (Most of the world has done this for centuries. It may be time to test out this practice of rest for yourself).

- Instead of vacantly scrolling through your socials, play a board/card/video game with your family.

- Instead of constantly being in each others way and driving each other mad at home, designate a daily 'solo time' for each member to retreat to a quiet place for an hour.

- Instead of stress binging an entire bag of crisps or comfort cookies, introduce intermittent fasting into your schedule and then regularly enjoy making an intricate/healthy/gourmet meal you can thoroughly savor, despite the calories, without beating yourself up.

- Instead of overworking your mind with trying to resolve the condition of the world, solve a puzzle with your hands, jigsaw, sudoku, word puzzles, etc. Or rework the the puzzle of your finances and life goals. (This is a great time to evaluate your life legacies).

- Instead of endlessly discussing politics with yourself or others, listen to your favorite music or take in uplifting podcasts. Or just shoot the breeze with someone you care about..

- Instead of carrying your anxieties alone in your head, reach out to a friend/mentor/coach/therapist. (You can always reach out to me through www.farahbradley.com and we can set up a time to talk).

These may seem like obvious, impossible or perhaps even trite practices, but adding these activities to your regular routine will allow you to find a new pattern of living each day with purpose. They may even lead you to discovering new passions and callings for your life. They will definitely lead you to finding a new perspective, a different way of seeing your place in this new world.

In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Remember to live.”

And in my words, creators, create. Writers, write. Painters, paint. Musicians, make music. Organizers, organize. Thinkers, think. Lovers, love. Chefs, cook. Problem solvers, evaluate and fix the broken which is around you. Dreamers, keep dreaming. Mothers, embrace and snuggle. Fathers, play and laugh. Children, be free and fly. Grandparents, rest. Singles, savor your independence. And friends, reach out to one another. Just remember to live. Meet yourself each day and start learning to 'do you' in a new world order!

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LET'S CHAT. I'm looking forward to meeting you!