I’ve been writing a ‘Corona Diaries‘ beat for 12 weeks now. And I don’t know if I should keep sticking to this topic, as my city is opening up again. The virus isn’t going away anytime soon. But I don’t think most humans can take self-quarantine much longer. Instead of being worried or feeling powerless, I am asking myself these questions.
How am I directing my energy?
I’ve been thinking a lot about energy lately: I can’t control much, but I can control my output. My energy is spent at work. Even though I’m still working at home, I can pour myself into it, without distraction. That’s a gift.
I am spending a lot of time exercising. I’ve returned to running, and it’s such a joy to pace myself, left-right-left-right, to use Tabata, a form of interval training. To feel my lungs, legs grow stronger. To feel the salty sweat drip.
What (and who) brings me joy?
While keeping myself busy usually results in productive output, it’s easy to think that’s ‘enough.’ As if my worth is based on being busy or successful. This is a trap I set for myself, over and over again. External success can bring satisfaction, but that’s not the same thing as joy.
I don’t want to lose sight of all my friends and relationships I’ve built. I have a penpal again. I’m even using social media for personal use more. But I am also ‘letting’ myself do things I like that don’t have inherent ‘worth’, like reading for fun. It’s been a lot of relearning: I loved to read as a kid, why do I constantly fall down the cult of busy?
How can I help?
When I’m running, I sometimes think, sometimes not. Today, I considered, how do I combine energy + joy? And that’s service. Does that mean, doing more at the food pantry in person again? Does that mean, doing more for the homeless I see, on my short drives? I am helping my college with our postponed reunion. And I am still helping folks with their websites.
But I think it’s time to come back to this website, not just for weekly blogging. Stay tuned, I have some ideas on new services. New core audiences. And new goals, so we all can have more joy, discovering how we can do what we really want to do.
So, even though there’s still a lot of uncertainty, we can still ask questions. We can still participate, by connecting to our core and our people. And if you need help learning to let go, reach out. I’m here to connect. Just leave a comment to begin.
Great article 🙂