It's hard to believe that just 15 years ago two weeks ago, I was sharing things that were inspiring me right now.
Now I am inspired by Italians singing on balconies, this letter from the Chair of Surgery at Columbia, a short but powerful episode of The Daily, and José Andrés just in general.
This is unprecedented. There is no way out of this but through.
I know some of you have lost your jobs. I know some of you have had to lay off your employees and close your shops. I know some of you might be sick. I know some of you know someone who is sick. I know some of you are working in hospitals without proper gear. I know some of you just had your graduations, weddings, birth plans and fertility treatments cancelled. I know some of you feel completely alone. I know some of you desperately need an hour to yourself. I know all of you are missing your parents and/or your kids, your friends, your grandparents, your colleagues, your teachers, your partners.
I see you. This is awful. This isn't going to end anytime soon. That makes it so much more awful.
I spent the first week scrolling waaaaay too much. Something I saw on my scrolling were ideas for how to fill this time. 101 ways to home school your children! 18 things to accomplish during shelter in place! 62 Facebook live streams you should tune into this week! 45 free things to try right now! In the beginning I shared some ideas myself! I am so glad if they are helping you right now. But I noticed that all the outside ideas are making me feel overwhelmed and frantic. It took a week, but I realized I needed some sort of plan aside from link hoping.
On Saturday, I brought back the three things method. It's on page 43 of my book or you can read just that page right here. These past few days I have committed to doing simple things like "Pull the weeds from the backyard. Wash the sheets. Hang a towel hook in the bathroom." As I say in the book: "The point isn't to actually get [the weeds pulled or the sheets washed]; the point is to re-establish normalcy. It [is] to feel the accomplishment of setting daily micro goals and crossing them off." I am still scrolling. I am still so scared. I still miss Paul so much. I still hate saying "no, we can't right now" to my kids 85 times a day. But I am also doing a few things around the house besides checking the news and it's making me feel better.
The other thing that helped me this week was taking a look at my 2020 goals and my newly drafted "want to do list." This sounds like a terrible idea, I know. But I used it as a centering tool. What did I want to do before the world turned upside down? Who was I just a few months ago? Instead of focusing on all the items that are on hold for now, what can I still do? I can knit a blanket. (It's actually going to my #the100dayproject.) I can retake all the photos and relaunch the Get To Work Book website. I can make some big art. I can finally log into that online Pilates class. I can (try to) recommit to not scrolling after 5pm. I can maybe get chickens! I can do some things. Just acknowledging this fact helps.
So, yeah. This is where we are. This is where we are going to be. We get to grieve what was. We get to be sad and mad. We get to miss our people. We get to zone out or hyper zone-in. Outside of listening to experts, there is no right way to do this.
And I guess that's what I really want to say: I see you. I am sad. I am sorry. This is awful. You need to do what works for you.
