It’s Spring Break! The weather is gorgeous: cool at night, high-70s to low-80s during the day. The sun is shining. And I’m inside, with the rest of you, social distancing.
It’s definitely an interesting time to be alive. I don’t remember ever experiencing anything like this.
I’ve been trying to do my part by staying home. It’s hard. I’m used to walking out of my apartment anytime I want to go grab a bite or a beer. Now, at the very least, I’ll go for a bike ride. I don’t interact with other people that way.
Otherwise, I’ve begun a few Covid-19 projects. One of them is trying to minimize my interaction with social media. There’s too much catastrophizing there. I want the facts. I don’t want the hype.
Another is creating art. A while back I painted backgrounds on small canvasses. Last night I finished them. I really love integrating calligraphy into art.
I’ve also been practicing my brush calligraphy by creating art cards. Most months I participate in writing love letters to strangers. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, go here. Of course you could write generic love letters and leave them in your neighborhood too. But the folks who submit requests to this need a little extra love. This month I decorated the front of the cards with brush calligraphy. Then I wrote their messages in regular calligraphy on the inside. (The outside of the cards are too slippery for regular calligraphy.)
So if you are looking for a COVID-19 project, The World Needs More Love Letters is a great way to spread some love in the world.
I’ve also been working on personal growth. Mindful magazine introduced me to a meditation book by Justin Michael Williams: Stay Woke. I’ve read a meditation book or two (or 10), but this one called out to me. I ordered it from my local book store (Tombolo Books). I’ve already read through it, and now I’m working through it. It is a lovely book, filled with inspirational words, amazing artwork, and ways to really spark and get a good fire going to a consistent meditation practice.
I keep losing my practice. Generally through busy-ness. I get tired, I want to sleep, then meditation goes away. I like that Justin introduces ways to keep it fresh and to make it more meaningful than I’ve historically made meditation.
And in this time of social unrest, it’s helping me explore my life’s vision more deeply. With debilitating student loan debt, sometimes I feel trapped within my job. I love teaching. But I hate the bureaucracy and the micro-managing, often from people who have never taught. Even under ideal conditions it’s a hard job. Add in putting out 1,000 fires that often don’t have much to do with teaching, well, it becomes something that’s really hard to mentally sustain. And that’s something I ponder from time-to-time.
Through this work, I’ve been journaling a lot. More than I have lately. That’s another practice that has been pushed to the side lately. But it’s always one I come back to. That habit has definitely stuck. Eleven years going strong with that! So I’m doing some deep digging into what I want out of life.
Granted, I’m also watching a lot of Netflix. Frankie & Grace is my current favorite. I don’t want anything too serious right now. Frankie & Grace gives the right balance of serious and not.
I’ve been getting caught up on chores. My dishes have been delightfully clean lately. And there’s very little kitty litter scatter on the floor. The little clutter that has accumulated since I KonMarie’s my apartment is moving out and moving on.
Yesterday I did go to the grocery, because I was running low. Seeing all of the toilet paper still out. And paper towels. Seeing the disarray of the Aldi boxes. Seeing the workers with the big carts restocking. Seeing the Checkout Clerks being even speedier than usual in getting people through the line. That made things a little clearer for me. Too, seeing so many people there made me realize, folks aren’t social distancing.
I had my counseling appointment yesterday afternoon. My counselor wiped down her couch and her waiting room as I came in. She did the same when I left. But looking around when I left the appointment, it looks like business as usual. The gym next door had people crossfitting. I do realize I was out and about too, but it was to meet with one other person and then to return home. Seeing so many people out, cruising Central Ave. St. Pete. Well, I’m not sure folks are taking this thing seriously. We’ll nip the pandemic in the bud much faster if folks stay the fuck home.
With that, I wish you all well as you stay the fuck home. For those who can, that is. I hope I’ve given a little inspiration for things that could be done to occupy time. I’d love to hear (read I guess…) what you are doing to stay healthy and sane during this weird time.
Sending everyone health, patience, and love.