Adapting and Being Flexible

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I think now of the beauty and benefit of adapting to a challenge rather than expecting that things can go “Your Way” like they used to.

While the COVID-19 outbreak rages I make do–and sometimes that is all you can do–persevere in whatever fashion it comes to you to persist.

I’ve adapted in one specific way: I have a heightened sensitivity to the role of nutritious food and physical activity in promoting optimal health.

The crisis has turned out to be for me the catalyst in wanting to up my fitness game post-pandemic.

The unpredictability of getting food delivered has forced me to reconsider the food I’m able to eat right here right now.

For one I have had to buy regular produce not organic at times.

Being flexible in this regard will make all the difference. It reminds me to be grateful that after the crisis ends it will be easier to eat more healthfully.

In adapting and remaining flexible you hold the key to winning against a setback.

Which I will talk about more next.

It’s imperative to not lose sight of your life goals while experiencing a hardship.

Making Prioritizing a Habit

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One thing I’ve started to do as a coping mechanism in the time of the COVID-19 outbreak is to act strategic in planning what I need to do each week.

This sounds old-school yet prioritizing weekly activities has made all the difference.

In effect at the start of each week planning out what I want to do for that week. Right down to how and when I exercise and what meals I eat and when.

This isn’t a luxury afforded only to single persons without a family. Those of us with kids would benefit from slowing down and planning instead of  rushing about filling every hour of the day with busywork.

Years ago I read an online essay that a mother wrote about how she got off the activities treadmill with her family.

There were no soccer games on Saturdays in her house. Everyone lounged around in their pajamas instead happy at home.

In fact I think prioritizing “doing nothing” is imperative in our jam-packed lives.

Sheltering in place I’m reminded of the Italian ethic of dolce far niente or the sweetness of doing nothing.

One thing I’m making a priority too is enriching my mind. I’m devoted to picking out a couple of books from my new book pile and reading them.

Prioritizing might just give us back our sanity in a time of uncertainty.

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Side note:

Folks: I might have led you astray. It’s now impossible to schedule FreshDirect or PeaPod to deliver anytime soon or at all in this crisis. This turn of events happened last Thursday. The time slots fill up within minutes if you’re lucky to get one.

The only way to order from FreshDirect is to go on their website at 12:15 a.m. And hope it doesn’t crash from the record number of people logging on.

Mi dispiace – I’m sorry.

 

Recovering in the Time of COVID-19

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I consider my target market to be everyone who wants to have a better life.

Not just people in recovery. For a moment though I want  talk in more detail about recovery in the time of COVID-19.

The remedy is that the action a person takes can aid them in healing right alongside the pills.

After the COVID-19 pandemic ends we can’t go back to judging people for taking pills. Nor can we revert to judging people who are making strides in their recovery by holding a job or having an apartment.

Cheers to everyone who wants to have a better life regardless of the severity of their illness or other hardship!

What I’m saying:

Our lives cannot be measured out in doses and disability.

We’re individuals with skills, abilities, and strengths. These things count more than the pill count in a bottle.

Everything I write in this blog is geared to empowering readers by giving you information you could use that might benefit you.

We will recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

In coming blog entries I’m going to give more insight gained living through this crisis.

Good to know:

12-Step meetings are now being held via online video.

Moving Forward in the Blog

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I want to start to talk about things no one else has dared talk about.

The number-one takeaway I’ve come away with while having been inside my apartment for 3 weeks is this:

Art is a Guaranty of Sanity

like the refrigerator magnet I bought proclaims.

My destiny appears to be to use the creative process to turn my ideas into reality.

By blogging and writing books to educate, entertain, and empower my target market.

Which as I see it is people who want to recover and need to recover.

My goal is to advance my vision of recovery from whatever a person is in recovery from.

This can be from an illness, from a micro-aggression, from any kind of setback hardship or obstacle either internal or external.

No–we cannot go back to the way things were in society before the CO-VI19 outbreak.

Egotism and bigotry must not prevail.

People cannot continue to hate and judge each other.

We need to halt acting greedy and seedy pursuing power at the expense of other human beings.

I identify as an Artist.

As an Artist, I believe in the transformative beauty of creating art to make the world a better place.

There’s so much that’s not right in society. I would like to do my part to change the frequency in terms of shifting the needle to the left of the dial.

To start a dialogue where everyone is free to speak the truth about who they are and why they’re here in this lifetime.

To use the blogs as an outlet to help others believe that recovery is possible.

To continue to write mostly about topics geared to mental and physical health.

To give readers a shot in the arm of confidence to express themselves without fear of reprisal.

I firmly believe that each of us is possessed with a power bigger than our pain.

The CO-VID19 outbreak will end.

It’s time to plan for a better future for ourselves, our loved ones, and the planet.

 

Recovering from an Illness, Setback, or Crisis

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As a creative person I’ve learned that doubt and confidence go hand-in-hand. You can’t “always” be confident and “never” doubt yourself.

In terms of recovery a person might be afraid to have a relapse or setback. This is only natural.

Again I will refer readers to the book Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions.

While sheltering in place and continuing to write the new novel I’ve seen that doubt can be a constant companion.

The goal in recovery as it is in life as I see it is to persist in the face of doubt.

You might doubt that things will return to normal after the pandemic. Or after you’ve faced any kind of struggle or hardship. Rightly so.

I believe that living through this crisis and surviving will give us the courage to go after our goals. Instead of sitting on the sidelines waiting to be called into the game.

This is my sincere hope that something good can come of having sheltered in place.

I’ve decided that returning to “normal” can’t be my goal once I’m carrying on outside again.

My mantra has always been that it’s just as easy to dream big as it is to settle for less.

Why not believe that recovery will be possible in whatever guise it comes to you as?

Why not go after your goals with gusto?

Why not?

Using the Creative Process to Heal

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Having sheltered in place for over 2 weeks has gotten me to think and reflect on planning for the future.

I’ve formulated the goal to publish fiction with a traditional publisher.

While in my apartment I have been writing a new novel.

As an Artist who is an Author I have long touted using the creative process to heal from an illness.

I was lucky that 5 days before New York City shut down I was able to go in person to Best-Buy to order a new computer.

Since then I’ve been writing the new novel.

My experience while indoors living through this pandemic has reinforced my vision that recovery is possible.

Engaging in the creative process–sketching and painting, listening to the radio or playing an instrument, writing poetry or short stories or a book–can enable a person to live through a crisis like the one we’re experiencing.

Engaging in the creative process enabled me to heal from a serious illness.

The CO-VID19 pandemic has tragically ended a lot of people’s lives. I”m not discounting that death is possible because of the coronavirus.

What I’m getting at is that living through this pandemic by sheltering in place has changed my view of living life on an ordinary day.

Once the CO-VID19 outbreak has resolved I plan to act bolder. To not take anyone else’s bull crap. To walk to the edge of my comfort zone and keep on going.

I have more to say about using the creative process to recover. I’ll talk about this in the next blog entry.

Grabbing Life by the Horns

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I wanted to talk about my sudden realization. It was brought on because I’ve been sheltering in place for over 2 weeks so far.

I’ve decided that my life can’t go on the way it was before the CO-VID19 outbreak.

I have been thinking about my goals and thinking about them some more.

In toiling away at my computer I was reminded of a section in a book I read. The author referred to how a Japanese court musician played his instrument in an empty room without an audience.

By embarking on writing the new novel I have learned that you must want to achieve a goal for your own enjoyment of the process of achieving it. Not to seek external recognition. In the end the outcome doesn’t matter either.

It’s your courage to risk trying to achieve a goal that counts more.

Sheltering in place has awakened in me the desire to grab life by the horns and go after my goals with gusto.

I will talk about goal-setting more in the next blog entry.

For those interested a professional perspective about mental health in this pandemic:

Alt 92.3 FM at radio.com at 8:00 p.m. supposedly has Dr. Chris talking about mental health in the time of the pandemic.

No, I am not that Dr. Chris.

 

 

Thriving in a Crisis – Some Thoughts

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New York State has the highest recorded number of cases of CO-VID19  in the United States.

In New York City where I live Mayor DeBlasio has stated that it’s possible that upwards of 50 percent of the residents will become infected.

This blog entry is the first in a carnival of entries I want to write on the topic of thriving in a crisis.  You might learn something from my experience having sheltered in place for over two weeks.

I submit that protecting your mental health in a time of crisis like this pandemic we’re experiencing is predicated on one simple tactic: enjoying your own company when you’re alone.

Not seeking to numb your thoughts and feelings with snacks, food, drugs, or alcohol.

You need to like yourself when you’re alone because that’s what matters in the end–not whether other people like you when you’re outside.

I don’t like to watch to TV. Watching TV is touted as a pleasant activity. In fact  I detest watching TV.

While sheltering in place I have started to write a new novel that is a work of fiction.

In the coming blog entries I want to talk about how thriving in a crisis is possible.

My experience sheltering in place has profoundly altered how I see things.

 

Sheltering in Place

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My job has shut down indefinitely.

As others might be sheltering in place as well I would like to take about mental health in a time of crisis.

The number-one goal as I see it in this time of staying indoors is to eat as healthfully as possible.

The second critical goal is to keep up your mental health.

You can click on my home gym category to see how you can exercise at home.

I’ve been buying a CSA box of organic produce plus a mound of cheese and carton of eggs via FreshDirect online grocer in New York City.

Type in CSA box in the search bar.

PeaPod is available elsewhere.

As long as you can keep up buying food this is what is imperative.

What matters most as I see it is protecting your mental and physical health.

Today more than every nutritious food can elevate your mood.

I would tell others to stay inside. Only go out to the bank or food shopping or the laundry center should you have to. You might think nothing could happen because you’ve been inside a long time so far. I wouldn’t risk going out.

Stay 6 feet away from others as recommended to practice social distancing.

In a coming blog entry I’ll post a message I posted to my other blog.

It bears repeating that having compassion is the way to go.

Be kind to yourself when you’re holed up in your apartment or house.

The CO-VID19 outbreak will settle down. We will return to normal.