Last winter, I felt like a dry piece of cold toast. that no amount of butter or jam could make taste better. Our days were spent whirling from one activity to another like robots on auto-pilot, until they all blurred together with me chanting, “something has to give.”
I knew what I wanted to drop from our schedule, I just needed to get to the end of the children’s school year to make those changes. Then the global pandemic happened and those changes were made for us. It was startling how quickly we went into lock down. Perhaps not fast enough in some parts of the world, but our Province’s health minister, Dr. Bonnie Henry, recognized the seriousness of the situation. At the beginning of our children’s school spring break in mid March, we were asked to stay home and shelter in place. My new mantra was, “this is so surreal.”
It’s been three months since our family went into social isolation. When school started up two weeks ago, we were one of the families who chose not to send their children back to school. We had found an exciting learning groove at home and our children were starting to laugh again. Really laugh! I thought they enjoyed attending school, going to swim club practices, violin, cello lessons and orchestra practices. I’m sure they did but until their world slammed to a stop, they didn’t understand the pace they were travelling. That pace was so fast. they had no time to enjoy moments that made them truly happy.
Those moments were found during the last three months. While our days are still full of at home learning, on line lessons, music practice, Skype visits with family and friends, a new rhythm is beating in our house. It’s a rhythm that makes our feet dance.
There is time to appreciate the brilliant, fuchsia blooms from our rhododendron, or stop to gently pet the stray cat, “Tabby,” who visits our doorstep each day for a bite to eat. We stop regularly to reconnect several times a day, but our favourite is 3 pm tea time, when we sit in a circle on our front lawn, sipping ice tea and savouring the latest offings from our kitchen’s oven, like warm chocolate chip cookies or cinnamon sprinkled cranberry/orange scones. We deeply inhale the moist air after a rain forest like down pour, or sit quietly at the end of a lovely spring day, watching the sun paint a myriad of gold and pink streaks in the western sky.
Who knew that beauty could be found during this deadly pandemic. That slowing down would be the conscious shift the world needs for real change. I don’t know about you or the rest of the world, but I’m not going back to the rat race when this pandemic ends and it will end, if history tells us anything.
Having less has never meant more to me and I’ve been on the minimalist, non consumer driven bandwagon for a few years now but it’s taken this global shut down for me to really ride it. The beauty in the world can’t be found anywhere, except in “this” moment and you can’t find that moment until you are still.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful….
and still.
Blessings from Hope