self-isolation

Sacrifice – Day 621

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CSA Flowers – Photo: L. Weikel

Sacrifice

So far, I’ve been extraordinarily lucky not to have been asked to sacrifice a great deal as a result of the pandemic.

I’m grateful that no one in my family has been hit with the virus (yet), although I have had a few friends contract it. Thankfully, there have been no hospitalizations (yet).

Part of the ‘luck’ I feel Karl and I are experiencing is a direct result of our ability to aggressively keep to ourselves. Both of us are able to continue our work from home. Yes, even my work – which I suppose might be an interesting blog post in itself.

A key to a lot of that aggressive isolation is continuing the protocols we began back in March, even though our state began ‘opening up,’ albeit carefully, a few weeks ago.

Discovering What’s Necessary

Karl and I discovered in those early months of the pandemic that we really don’t need to run around anywhere near as much as we used to. Indeed, we’ve begun admitting to ourselves and each other that a not insubstantial portion of our hopping in the car was related to procrastination.

Needless to say, we’ve both stealthily acquired and honed a few new procrastination techniques – but I can confidently assure you, they do not involve our cars. So that’s a win/win in my book.

We’ve also realized just how little we actually need of anything other than food. And books. Of course, how could I forget books.

A Revelation

So it was a revelation to me today to witness just how thrown I was by my decision not to travel to Connecticut to participate in my eldest sister’s 80th birthday.

Damn. 80. That just doesn’t seem possible. If you were to meet her, you’d never think she was 80. She still works, even, twice a week, in a museum gift shop. And I’m grateful she can do that – I have no doubt it keeps her sharp and provides for essential human contact which keeps her young at heart, in mind and spirit.

Which leads me to my feeling of having sacrificed today in a meaningful way. It’s not been a sacrifice for me to ‘hard quarantine.’ It’s been annoying at times, and inconvenient. But having to actively say ‘no’ to myself and restrain myself from jumping in the car and heading north to Connecticut to celebrate Jane’s huge milestone was huge for me. And weighed heavily on my heart.

A Strategy

Indeed, I scheduled a session with a client for this afternoon precisely because I knew I’d be tempted at the last minute to ‘be there’ for her – and to see her kids, my nieces and nephews. But I knew I wouldn’t cancel with a client; that’s sacred. And I felt the wisdom of the foresight of that strategy, believe me. Instead of licking my wounds and second-guessing myself, or worse – feeling sorry for myself – I focused on the needs of my client.

Another win/win.

Saying ‘no’ to myself and refusing to allow myself to go to Jane’s party felt like a true sacrifice. I did it, though, because I want Jane to live to see more birthdays in her 80s (and beyond, Goddess willing). And since who knows whether Karl and I might be asymptomatic carriers, I could not and would not risk attending. And that goes for my nieces and nephews and their kids.

I want our family’s clean record to remain unbroken. And for that, I was willing to sacrifice.

Love you, Jane. Happy birthday!

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-490)

ICYMI – Day 532

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Old fashioned radio – Photo: pinterest.com

ICYMI

It’s funny – this is one of two acronyms that have grown in usage over the past several years that seem to stop me in my tracks. When I see ICYMI (which stands for ‘in case you missed it’), I always have to pause and make a conscious effort to say the full phrase to myself. For whatever reason, this acronym just doesn’t trigger instant recognition in my brain.

Neither does NSFW. Which is particularly ironic, if you know me very well on a personal level, since I tend to speak in NSFW language about NSFW subjects probably far too often. (That’s ‘not safe for work,’ Karl.) (He’s as bad as I am about these acronyms; trust me.)

OK, so now that we have that sorted (hmm, is OK one, too? maybe not), I want to let you know the reason why I titled this post the way I did.

KYW, Of Course

My ‘unexpected opportunity!’ My 30 seconds of fame, dear readers! Good heavens, I’ve only been writing about it for days. In fact, I’m sure you were wondering if it would ever air – or if I was just stringing you along. Because yes, including tonight, I managed to eke out three whole posts dedicated to an interview that seemed to go by in the wink of an eye. But at least tonight’s post includes a link to the actual broadcasted clip!

I have to say, being a person who does not routinely (read ‘ever’) get interviewed on tv or radio, I was pretty stoked when I hopped in my car this morning for my weekly run to buy our organic milk during the old people’s hour. (That sentence horrifies me. But sadly, it’s accurate.) The stoking factor was that it only took seven minutes or so from when I got in the car and turned on the radio for the segment to come on!

Then, having bopped in and out of the store in jig time, I got home all excited to have heard it, whereupon Karl turned the radio on here in the house. Sure enough, another version of the segment  – one that was a scootch longer, even! – aired within a couple of minutes.

Gratitude

I want to thank Kim Glovas for seeking me out for the interview. It was a privilege to be asked to share my thoughts on what our global experience of this pandemic might be instigating within and revealing to us, not only personally but on a much larger scale as well.

There are some of you out there who may smile when you read the paragraph above. Yeah. Life’s a hoot.

I also send out big hugs to each of you who so kindly expressed enthusiasm when I first wrote about the interview last week. While it’s always great to have unexpected opportunities arrive in our lives, it’s waaaaay more fun to share those bright spots with others.

So again, ICYMI, here it is. As always, thanks for reading. And thanks for listening!

Tigger – unimpressed with my shenanigans – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-579)

New Moon in Aries – Day 498

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Signs of Spring – Photo: L. Weikel

New Moon in Aries

In just a couple of hours the moon will be dark, obscured from our sight because it won’t be reflecting any of the light of the sun. Technically, we’ll be experiencing a new moon in Aries.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, the new moon is a particularly fertile time to plant the seeds of ideas, intentions, or commitments we want to set into motion in our lives. One way of looking at it is to think of the dark moon as representing rich, dark, fertile soil that’s a perfect medium for nurturing life and growth. So it is a perfect time to plant those aspirations we hold for the coming days, weeks, and quite possibly beyond.

It’s interesting to read how interpretations of the particular alignment of the planets and moon reflect the challenges we’re being called to face in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Because this is a new moon, the sun and moon are ‘conjunct,’ or sitting at the same degree in the same sign. Thus, as you probably realize, the sun is also in Aries, having entered that sign at the equinox, which took place on March 19th this year.) Chani gives a thought-provoking description of the aspects influencing this particular new moon, and how these influences speak directly to our current experiences here.

Introspection and Hard Questions

As I’ve mentioned a number of times lately, this self-isolation we’re being urged to do (or in more and more cases, ordered to engage in via so-called ‘stay-at-home’ orders) is an unprecedented opportunity to take a deep dive into figuring out who we are and what we value at our core. It’s a chance for us to reflect on the choices we’ve made in our lives. And it quite possibly is a time in which we contemplate making new choices.

It occurs to me as I write this that we are seeing the stark truth of this reflection on what we truly value play out right in front of us on the national stage. Will we choose to continue to self-isolate if we think we may have been exposed to the virus (or simply to avoid the possibility of exposure or being exposed)? Will we choose to withdraw from social interaction and physical contact in order to protect each other and ourselves? Or will we decide that ‘getting back to work’ is more important than the very real possibility of saving lives?

As many are pointing out, a ‘dead’ economy can be revived. A dead person cannot.

Choosing Our Values

In signaling today that we may be urged to ‘return to work’ next week if we have no symptoms (the ostensible end of the 15 days of social distancing begrudgingly advocated by the federal government), we are being given a clear indication on the macro level of just what is of most value to our so-called ‘leaders.’ Indeed, I saw a clip just this evening of the Lt. Governor of Texas saying that grandparents would be happy to give their lives to provide a healthy economy to their grandchildren.

That’s an utterly absurd and appalling ‘choice’ for our government to be suggesting we make. And it’s not even true. (Surprise.) Choosing to knowingly risk even greater spread of this virus would only serve to kill more people and crash our economy even further. It would be the height of cratered and craven values.

But Here We Are

What seeds do you want to plant today? Where do your deepest values reside? What is most precious to you and how do you intend to express your devotion to it/them?

This is where we find ourselves. Our current way of living is unsustainable – on so many levels.

But we can do this. We can make the choices that will enable love, caring, and compassion to flourish. If that’s what really matters to each of us.

Crocus – Photo: L. Weikel

 

(T-613)