Best laid plans
In any given moment have two options: To step forward into growth,
or to step back into safety
– Abraham Maslow
It’s the Easter break. We should have been travelling. I’d booked a hotel and researched restaurants, walks and galleries. We were good to go. We couldn’t go.
The same is now true for almost anyone. Our world has changed, rapidly. More and more people are talking about ‘the new normal’. Goals, events and arrangements are on hold.
It can be difficult to let go of dreams and best laid plans. Flights are grounded, exams are cancelled, businesses have closed their doors. So much impacts on us all.
We have adapted to life in many places, many times, living alongside the threat of terrorism, crime or disease. This is different, and demands a different response. But some things are the same. You learn about who and what is really important. You adopt new practices. You become resilient. You can choose to complain. Or we can reframe our thinking, wait this out and find a new way to be.
So, we can’t travel this week. It’s a disappointment but it’s not a big deal. I remembered on so many occasions, friends saying to us “I travel vicariously through you”. And so we made plan. I got creative and planned a virtual tour. Over five days we’ve ‘visited’ U.S.A, Wales, Argentina, South Africa, India and Italy, travelling vicariously through food and film. I picked a selection of films and then began to think about dishes to create to transport us there, via our tastebuds. It took longer than I thought to plan. But one thing that most of us have in self isolation, is time. When I enthusiastically shared the plan with PKP, he was excited. “Cool idea Mags. Let’s go”. The shopping list for ingredients needed to be made, to minimise trips to the supermarket at this time. We got everything in one go. I put the film titles on Post-it notes, to pick day by day, where we want to ‘go’.
This is a time when all of us can identify ways to live differently. We just have to adapt and stay well. Which hopes and dreams have you had to put on hold? How has your life changed in recent weeks?
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