06 Apr Cherishing connectedness during isolation

It’s Sunday afternoon as I write this. I’m sitting in my conservatory, feet up, radio on and the sun teasing me from beyond the glass. It’s my birthday and I’m alone. I miss my beau, my friends and my parents. I have no furry friends to keep me company, but the chirping birds are serenading me from outside. It’s a strange day.

But before you lift your fingers to type how sorry you are and to send me belated birthday wishes (I forgive you for forgetting :-)) then don’t worry, I’m fine.

Even more connected

Despite the lack of physical contact with people, I’ve had an amazing day so far with an abundance of phone calls, video birthday messages, video chats, Facebook birthday posts and WhatsApp messages. The privilege of opening beautiful cards and presents this morning, accepting a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and reading some truly sniffle stifling messages made me feel so proud to be alive.

A Joe Wicks session and a walk around the local country park lake got me motivated, followed by a lunchtime dose of Psychologies magazine topped up my mental optimism. And the surprises continued … after my lovely neighbours found out I had aged another year, I kept receiving cards through the rectangle airlock in my front door!

Slap bang in lockdown it could have been a really depressing day, but the corners of my mouth have continually been aloft. In many ways I feel even more connected to the important people in my life.

Change can be a good thing

Lockdown has already taught me that I need to slow down. Mental resilience is important and you need time to rest and recharge. Something the inspirational TeeJay Dowe from Ignition! and Back on Track Teens has embedded in me over the past year – thank you 🙂

Each of us is having a difficult time at the moment for different reasons. Leaving money out of the equation (which will test us all), my biggest challenge is to get through the next few weeks (or longer) being alone. Thankfully, I have the Internet, I can chat with friends and family via a multitude of apps and stay connected in ways that my ancestors could never have imagined. I’m lucky to have streaming services and TV to watch, uplifting radio DJs and playlists to listen to and an abundance of online activities to partake in that have been made available for free. I’ve engaged in online quizzes, bingo, been to the theatre and Cirque du Soleil, and discovered some amazing music.

Fresh air and exercise is getting me fitter and I’m trying hard to look after my mental wellbeing with mindfulness. Personally, I’m choosing to see good things in a bad situation.

Negativity is a disease

Anyway, there was a point to this article so let me get to it … negativity is a disease. I’m sick of seeing and hearing it. This unfortunate human trait is deadly. It’s like an alternative Covid-19 and the people spreading negativity really don’t have a clue. Whether it’s the media asking questions that, in my eyes, are aimed at tripping up politicians, scientists and advisors, online trolls spouting fake news and being destructive, or the lunatic coughing over everyone in the Asda queue chanting that ‘it’s only the flu.’ No, it’s not.

We’ve all had to adapt massively in such a short space of time and I truly believe that everyone in power, everyone on the front line and every sensible human being is trying to do their best with the resources they have, and in the time they have. The world has been turned upside down in a mere few weeks.

Community, common sense and pooling of resources are what we need right now, not scapegoat searching and keyboard warriors.

The positivity challenge

Possibly to my detriment, I’ve not been active (regularly) on LinkedIn for some time. That needs to change and there’s no time like the present. Now more than ever we need to pull together, share best practice and stay upbeat.

I’ve set myself a challenge to find and share snippets of positivity each day for the foreseeable future. I cannot take any credit for this idea as it came out of a brainstorming 1-2-1 online meeting with the highly enthusiastic and positivity-infectious Katie from Nimble Film Chick last Thursday. Wouldn’t that be a superb condition to contract? Positivity? Hmm, there’s a thought…

To that end, from tomorrow I shall be publishing positivity in abundance. I do hope you’ll find a second or two to embrace the great things that people are doing in these testing times, reflect on encouraging messages and share your own positive experiences.

Let’s quash the mood hoovers. A healthier mind encourages a healthier body.