A Gift of Time, to you from the Earth.

A daily comment from most of us these days is “I don’t have time…..”
Well here it is now – the one thing you never have enough of.
A Gift from the Earth. A gift from the Animals.
TIME.
The Earth is forcing us to pay attention and we’d better listen well. She needs to heal and so do we.
How will you will you use this gift? Will you use it wisely and emerge on the other side a better human?
Or will you waste it and go back to your old ways?
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My isolation plan in preparation for LOCK DOWN Namibia
Annabelle Venter
24 MARCH 2020
Windhoek
I’ve had three weeks to practice for the pandemic lock down (corona virus/Covid_19) since I had a surgical shoulder procedure and no driving allowed (or possible)
I’m sharing what I’ve learnt so far… and I hasten to add that this is as much a memo to myself as it is to assist any reader! I have a long way to go, but for now am happy to accept that I am perfectly imperfect!
After the op I embraced the chance to not do pottery for a few weeks and to have the time to figure out the path ahead, since the shoulder issues indicate that the way I’ve been working with clay up till now has significantly attributed to the problem.
Naively I thought I’d have my 'light-bulb' moment pretty soon after the op and I would be able to start actively planning my new path. I usually have a stream of innovative and creative ideas so where are they now? I have many interests, passions and skills, but right now, I have time, no inspiration and zero income (and pain). Sound familiar to you? Read on then, this is for you.
The first thing is to establish a routine. This is not a vacation. Remember how stiff and unmotivated you felt returning to the gym after an extended holiday? Well let’s just call this maintaining emotional and mental fitness. And when we return to work in a few weeks it won’t be so hard to adjust. The upside is that we might just find a new way to live and work, and become human beings instead of a human doings!
This is not really very different to my usual working day in isolation as a creative and one, which as an introvert, I am totally at ease with. I realize this won’t be the case for everyone though.
So I  make specific times during my day and routine in order to fulfill each or at least most of these tips. Unless you still have to work full time, then try to fit in a different one each day at least.

• Keep to REGULAR MEALTIMES and balance your meals nutritionally. Now is not the time to sloth on the couch stuffing in popcorn, bread and fizzy drinks. Cut the sugar and the carbs and I know I’ll  feel lighter and more energized. (Note to self again )
• EXERCISE. There are many ways to do this at home even in a small space. Weights, skipping, TV exercise programmes, treadmill (if you have a piece of gym equipment gathering dust – it’s moment has arrived!) dancing to music. JUST MOVE! Yoga -  sign up for the free online classes available now. Use rubber band lengths for resistance, lift weights using water bottles or tinned foods, floor exercises and oh my favourite, The Plank. (Warning: this one doesn’t go well with crappy shoulders!)
• REST. It’s always refreshing to have a power nap and now there’s no excuse! After lunch, 20 minutes max and I set my  alarm. Wake up, do some stretches and drink a glass of cold water.
• LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TIME. (Ahem…) Set yourself just two slots a day to connect and catch up. Perhaps breakfast time/just before or after, then again in the early evening. Switch off long before bedtime to allow your brain to calm down into pre-sleep mode. It’s time to focus on YOUR life, not other peoples. I know this one is hard Yup, because it’s a form of entertainment now.
• WHATSAPP VIDEO/CHAT with friends and family daily. Especially the elderly and most importantly, check in with people living alone as well as our neighbours.
• READ BOOKS. I have a delicious pile that I will never get through now; it's a long term ongoing delight, but am making progress!!     Fiction: Take yourself on a journey away from reality. The more you read the better your use of language, vocabulary and own writing will become. Factual: read good books either in hard copy or online that will broaden your horizons and open new doors for your mind. Come out of Lock Down a little bit better educated!
• CREATE: All human beings have the ability to think and act creatively. It’s what sets us apart from other primates. Creativity has a million different forms. So let’s step back, take a look around our houses and try out a few things to improve our living conditions. These are some things on my list: Plant some vegies and recycle household water without detergents onto them. Bake a new recipe, bake my own bread, sew new curtains, repair clothes and give them a new creative twist. Paint a wall with a new colour or artwork. Try out a new creative programme online, find a new skill and way to work in the future. Make a patchwork quilt from saved favourite old shirts. Write about this strange period in my life. Start a daily journal and record my tips on coping with lock down (hence the blog). Start a blog, and a great idea from a friend this morning: make that photo book online that you’ve had on your ‘to-do’ list forever. Remember that almost all our images and letters to each other are digital and online these days. Once we’ve have left the planet there may be no record of our existence if we don’t record it in print! Quite a startling thought!
• WRITE: with a notebook and pen, record daily experience of lock-down. Choose a special pen and enjoy the exercise. Writing by hand is still my favourite way to record life and we’re never too old to improve our handwriting! Write about the new things you are noticing. Birds, trees, our neighbourhood, sounds, seasons, things your family do, our goals and dreams.  Drawing in the notebook is a bonus so do that too!
• EDUCATE YOURSELF: our planet is calling for help. Do you understand why? Do you understand the consequences of things you do on a daily basis? If not, now is the time to learn. This is not ‘party time.’ It’s ‘awakening to the  reality-of-the-earth-in-trouble time’ and it affects every one of us. Find out what is CLIMATE CHANGE / find out why the insane amount of meat consumption on the planet is not sustainable/ find out why the air is not clean/find out what plastic is doing to our seas/ the list goes on….
• GET INTO NATURE: even in lock down this is possible. If you don’t have a garden then get your headphones on and watch a wildlife video or just listen to the sounds of nature. Or stand at the open window and watch the sky, look at the birds and take a deep breath of fresh air. It will be fresher now that the traffic is so much less. Take note of any plants flowering near you and marvel at their beauty and resilience. Grow a tomato plant on your windowsill. Nature will continue to thrive after we have all gone so how about making a pact with it now? Make a promise to yourself to take care of the earth, and Nature will take care of you. That tree outside your window helps produce the air you breathe, be gentle and appreciative of it. It’s MACHO to be GREEN and shows superior intelligence and understanding of our place in the world. Be part of the solution, not the problem.

If you are fortunate to have a garden no matter how small, make a decision to spend a lot of your time in it. Eat your meals under a tree, read your book out there. Exercise out there, have your afternoon nap out there. Get a small dose of sunlight and wear sun protection cream. We all need vitamin D but do protect your skin from the sun. And all the while listen to the earth speak.

• MEDITATE DAILY:  Why? To find silence and peace inside yourself and reset your incessant inner chatter.  To slow down the clock that pushes you to exhaust yourself every day. To heal yourself. To be the best version of yourself. To be in touch with the Earth and what she is saying directly to each and every one of us right now. To just stop and listen for once. To understand and accept that you already have enough. That you already are enough. And to allow yourself to mature.

 
 
The world’s future way of functioning is for sure uncertain. But what is to a large extent within our control is the way we personally handle this pandemic and all that goes with it. In reality we only really have this moment now. Embrace this time as the incredible gift that it is, no matter what your circumstances. Connect with your family and care for one another in whatever way you can. Write in your journal and remember to notice and note what you are grateful for, every day.

Namaste
​Annabelle