Sometimes breathing deeply is not enough, and neither is being quiet and stopping the noise. Sometimes things get so tough that the noise in our heads just won't stop no matter what. Right now is one of those times and the going is getting seriously tough. And furthermore, it's going to get tougher. So yes - we can breathe deeply (especially for that fraction of the day that we are allowed to foray out), we can stop looking at all the constant bombardment of info, we can bake sourdough and clean our houses. We can and should do all those things.
But is no longer enough to stop the noise in our heads.
When The Going gets Tough, the Tough get Going
I have made a decision not to get drawn into the increasingly negative conversations going on around me. Everyone is dealing with severe fall-out on some level or another, and lockdown is starting to test our tempers no matter how lucky we are to have a roof over our heads and food on the table. The current group-think and speak is bouncing between anger and frustration, hopelessness and despair, health and wealth anxiety and flat-out fear of this unknown future that we have to live after being pared down to the bone.
And yet there are other conversations happening, some that I have been privileged to be a part of. The tough are truly starting to get going. People are becoming wildly creative, turning out ideas and new revenue streams that I could never have imagined. The profile of how we do things is changing and may never look the same again. I am seeing chefs and restaurants turn around with astounding agility, creating meals that can be delivered instead of consumed on premises. I read today that one restaurant is trying to put together virtual dinner parties by dropping ingredients and then arranging a session with the chef, so you and your guests can all prepare together. I have spoken to teachers who have come up with novel ideas to teach their students. We need new ways of learning so badly! Now is the time to not get bogged down by despair - rather it is time to be part of the solution and the future. Let's join up and become big think tanks. Let's push back hard on things we don't agree with, create platforms that make accessing food and relief easier, turn businesses around to face new challenges rather than trying to do the same as we used to. Many voices make a big noise. We need to stand together now more than ever. Take charge of what you can - get credit or rental reprieves, look at costs you can cut or cull, support SME's, think like an entrepreneur by anticipating needs that will arise when we get through this. Start marketing these ideas now. Make new ideas real.
But still the viral wave continues to roll in towards our shore. We are already so over this whole thing, and yet the worst of the curve is still coming. So look after your health - if you are of sound health the overwhelming chance is even if you get this virus you will survive it well. Stand strong, don't be afraid but be very responsible and careful.
It is no longer about me. It is about us - an us we all need to take responsibility for, teach our children about, and make them a part of. We now live in a world of us - all survivors of one of the worst human crisis in living history. Let's all take up the challenge to be the very best version of ourselves, to make up an extraordinary us.
In the words of Joseph Campbell - It is time to let go of the life you had planned, and step into the one waiting for you.
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