Not everything is cancelled
Not everything is cancelled
This lockdown was quite unexpected to say the least. Like anything else as a parent, you just have to roll with it and do the best that you can. There is a lot that has had to be cancelled or postponed both at school and in the Fiordland community, so just sit with that for a moment and acknowledge the disappointment that will inevitably come with that. In the same token, I want to talk about shifting focus from what we can’t control, to what remains the same, regardless of alert level.
I saw a picture circulating on social media, and I think that it sums up a much more helpful way of thinking than just ruminating and worrying about the bad aspects of lockdown. I doesn’t mean that the bad does not exist, rather it is a shift in the direction of our focus. It went like this: “Not everything is cancelled. Sunshine is not cancelled. Spring is not cancelled. Love is not cancelled. Relationships are not cancelled. Naps are not cancelled. Devotion is not cancelled. Music is not cancelled. Dancing is not cancelled. Imagination is not cancelled. Kindness is not cancelled. Conversations are not cancelled. Hope is not cancelled.
We also still have so much that is in our control. Your attitude. Your honesty. Your perspective. How present you are with your children. What you read. How you move your body. How you treat others. How kind you are to yourself. How often you tell others that you love them. What you eat and drink. How you interpret situations. How you show gratitude. Whether or not you ask for help. How often you smile. What you spend your money on. Whether or not you judge others. How much you appreciate what you have in your life.
This is a challenging time but when you step back and look at everything in the previous two paragraphs, we can see that we actually still have most of the vital aspects in our lives, present and available. Add to that the fact that we are able to spend some unexpected time with our families, start a forgotten project or try out some special recipes, and hopefully it becomes a little clearer that seeing the glass “half full” is a helpful and even necessary way of being right now.
Kathryn@kathrynwright.co.nz