How to feel a little calmer while life has some challenges.

"Love recognises no barriers, it jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope"     Maya Angelou. Social isolation is difficult.  Sometimes I think our coronavirus pandemic is not only a disease of the body but also of community and relationships.  The idea of loved ones or ourselves becoming seriously ill and needing to be isolated is unthinkable but has painfully become true for thousands of people.   On a far less serious level,  I never thought I could manage being at home for two months during lockdown separated from everyone I know except my partner.  I have missed the sense of community that I took for granted pre-coronavirus such as being able to go to a yoga class, music event or my local cafe.  I have missed normal things like being able to cook for friends and relax around a table. But I'm surprised that I have found a sense of connection through the world of Zoom.  I have done yoga classes with wonderful teachers

Recently, I have become an armchair traveller.  The travel books I am reading remind me of trips unaffected by coronavirus.  While it remains difficult to consider venturing abroad at the moment, I can imagine varied landscapes of olive-groves and mountain villages.  During the last two years, I have been fortunate to spend a few months in Spain.  It has been a very necessary tonic to help recover from a challenging patch of life marred by multiple bereavements, redundancy and my own health struggle.  I had been knocked sideways and was unsure how to get up again, let alone recover fully.  Would I feel crumpled and sore for ever?  All I knew was that I was craving sunshine and quiet to help heal and thankfully Spain was providing this in abundance. Life since coronavirus emerged has obviously been different.  I initially felt the loss of my precious trips to Spain that helped my soul feel alive again.  So now, instead of actually packing my suitcase, I am reading travelogues about

We've reached a milestone here in the UK in dealing with coronavirus.  We have passed the end of the 12 week period since the first day of lockdown.  By then I figured we'd be over the worst and nearly back to normal.  Friends that were "shielding" had been told that they needed to stay at home for this length of time.  Even Boris Johnson said that in the 12 weeks we could "turn the tide of this disease and send coronavirus packing in this country". We have turned the tide, thankfully.  The rate of infection appears to be slowly reducing each week in most areas.  I can feel my shoulders relaxing a little more as I see the numbers finally coming down.  The dreadful peak with all the tragic losses has indeed passed.  The weather is gloriously sunny and we are able to enjoy it now in our small groups of up to 6 people.   Easy Jet has just taken its first flight on Monday for 11 weeks from Gatwick to Glasgow with 51 passengers.  As more things are opening up I

Celebration is in order!  New Zealand is coronavirus free from Monday this week!  40, 000 people have been tested in the last 17 days and none have tested positive with no one in hospital for Covid-19 for 12 days.  Even more incredible is that it has been 40 days since the last case of community transmission.  Just imagine, waking up with no coronavirus in the country and being able to... open schools normally, go out to eat, hug friends and travel around.  Wow!  I am celebrating with you and will join PM Jacinda Ardern in her little dance for joy. Just before I could watch Jacinda Ardern's speech on You Tube, the preceding advert was ironically for colourful fabric face masks for the UK viewers.  It's hard not to compare New Zealand's success to UK's crisis.  A week ago, the ONS estimated that 39, 000 people in England alone were newly infected with coronavirus.  This number was calculated from a huge study testing thousands of randomly selected people.  My partner w

In a recent survey, 54% of people intend to make some positive changes in their own lives post lockdown.  The survey also found that many hoped we would learn lessons as a country, notably valuing our local communities and caring for our ecosystem.  If we have been fortunate enough to have our basic needs met during these times (home, enough food and some form of work or income) lockdown has given space to reflect on priorities in life. A common experience during lockdown has been a feeling of "less pressure" in terms of over-scheduled diaries.  In our achieving and materialistic society, we can all get caught up in the "more is better" philosophy.  This can include more work squeezed into evenings or weekends, more time spent on social media and our phones, more shopping, more trips away, more social engagements... It feels exhausting and never ending, always one more text or email before we can stop.  We can be so busy multi-tasking, we are not fully present in

Living by the beach in the last few weeks during our easing of lockdown has had its mixed blessings.  My fears have been realised about our little seaside town becoming busy with people and cars.  Relaxing lockdown during our sunniest May weather on record has inevitably meant numerous visitors.  My recent conversations while out on my daily walk with locals have been about the crowds and how to cope with the influx. My perception of people adhering to social distancing has become somewhat skewed by living here.  I've been feeling some despair watching the number of people not social distancing.  Many groups started to appear long before groups of up to 6 were permitted from yesterday.  I have even been wondering about whether I want to continue to still live here with the anti-social behaviour that we are now seeing in a very small minority of cases.  It is really upsetting for a small, peaceful community. Thankfully I hear from friends who can help me put this local issue int