Hi, Friend. How are you? Seriously, take a minute and check-in with yourself. How are you doing right now? At this point, the beginning of May, most of us have been in quarantine for a month or more. And a drastic change to our normal day-to-day is often difficult to handle, especially long term. But this is our new reality.
Today, I’m good. But not every day is a good day even though not much has changed for me; I’m home, we go to the store once a week, and I’m somewhat used to having the kids home. (It’s almost like an extended spring break or summer break.) Truth is, our new reality, no matter how familiar some aspects may be, is hard to handle mentally and emotionally. It’s important to find ways to handle this new mental and emotional stress.
You’ve heard me profess my love of exercise for mental health, but I rarely talk about my other outlets for coping with mental and emotional stress — creative writing, for example. I typically find myself writing when I am just inundated with thoughts that I am not effectively processing. Plus, with May being mental health month, I felt it was a good time to share some of my writings in the effort someone else is having difficulty with similar feelings.
So through the entire month, I’ll be sharing different pieces of writing, mostly poems, that have helped me gather my feelings and thoughts around different topics or life events. I hope you find value in my sharing. It is always a goal on The Bourbon Cactus to share info and experiences that you will benefit from.
Today, I thought I would share my most recent writing. This piece helped me gather my thoughts after going to the store the first time since our state received stay-at-home orders.
Movie What day is it? We haven't left the house in weeks The only people I've seen are the ones who live under our roof It's like we're living in a movie Groundhog day Day after day We walk outside to feel the sun And to remind us that we are safe It's like we're living in a movie The neighborhood driveways are filled with cars The street looks deserted Besides the person running down the sidewalk Do they even live here? It's like we're living in a movie A special day is close But no celebrating a loud Only "hello" over the phone It's like we're living in a movie Running low on necessities Time to plan our route Essential trips only Make sure you dress for protection It's like we're living in a movie To venture out feels like a crime Ghosts drive the cars at the stoplight Don't look Stay safe It's like we're living in a movie People rushing in, people rushing out Walk 6 feet apart don't touch your face Wash your hands Lookout Someone just coughed It's like we're living in a movie Faces covered by scarves, bandanas, and masks Do I have enough protection? Sanitize your hands It's like we're living in a movie
As you can probably tell, I was feeling very overwhelmed with the idea of going to the grocery and seeing all these people but, yet, our street felt like a deserted western town. After I wrote my feelings down on paper – or typed them on my phone – I began to feel more at ease with our new reality.
Friend, I hope you are finding healthy ways to deal with the new and added stresses of our new world right now. And I hope you have found today’s post to be helpful in some way; maybe it brought you peace to hear what you were feeling put into words or, maybe, you have peace of mind knowing that you aren’t the only one with these feelings.
If you are feeling like you need a little more community during this time, please come join me on Instagram and Facebook so we can connect even more.
*You can read more about my experience with fitness and mental health here and here.
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