Living Through a Pandemic

I have no doubt this era that we are living in is a double edged sword. While I try to maintain a positive attitude and share inspiration, hope and joy... We are human and it does take a toll on your mental health to encounter all of these challenges, changes and the new normal of  life. 

On The Bright Side

1. I've enjoyed all of this quality time at home with my husband. I feel our relationship has only grown stronger and better with each passing day. We have and will always compliment each other and balance one another -- and that is perhaps the most gratifying experience I can share so far since March. As a life partner who has loved unconditionally this only intensifies these feelings of deep love, appreciation and support. 
2. Tele-Work - I've been working remotely and from home for 6 years now... so nothing is new for me, but many others have discovered how great it can be to be just a productive from the comforts of home. It can still be rewarding, productive and efficient if you do it correctly. At home projects all got done and all this downtime was a great way to reconnect on all levels. I am also extremely grateful to still have work!
3. Takeout and Delivery - at it's peak when we all feared going out in public and were ordered to stay in our homes, the joy of home delivery and restaurant food for takeout was a pleasant experience. perhaps it was seeing other humans, encountering other people, seeing something new and trying something new that helped bring a spark to your day. From that we discovered a few gems and also learned to really appreciate our small businesses who are working so hard to stay afloat, always adapting and pivoting to stay alive.
4. Communication is Key - with the advent of FaceTime, Zoom, video conferencing, text messaging, direct messaging, group chats and etc... keeping in touch, sharing a message and just engaging with others really helped to uplift and inspire. I tried to keep in touch with close friends regularly and hoped that my messages and frequent check-ins also kept their spirits up. 
5. Mother Nature Reset - the water is clearer, the oceans are cleaner, life is rejuvenated and wildlife found some restoration. I first heard about it when dolphins were swimming in Venice, the fish returned to parts of Waikiki and coral started to grow again. Our reduced impact on the environment really helped mother nature experience a rebirth or sorts. 

On The Down Side

1. After one month in isolation, the lack of social encounters and in-person engagements led me to a somber place. I felt frustrated, defeated and emotionally lost. I believe the unknown and fear created these feelings of angst and fright. There were so many questions about this new virus, sickness, death, hospitalization and more. Obviously, there are still a series of unknowns but Hawaii has emerged as one of the lowest regions of infection and has done very well keeping the health and safety of our residents in tact.  Being cooped up at home isn't the best and most ideal choice but I am grateful to be safe, healthy and virus free. 
2. Too much social media - while I manage social media for others as it is part of my business, also for Da Best Hawaii and my own personal pages this, as you can imagine, is somewhat cumbersome. Posting for my clients is fun, exciting and inspires me... but keeping up with Da Best Hawaii and maintaining posts for myself leaves me weary. I worked tirelessly to help my clients as best I could, doing 5Xs the amount of expected work and often fielding, calls, meetings, texts, emails and etc from 5am-12am daily. When the work started to taper off I found myself frustrated by others on social media who opted to unfollow, block or disengage with me personally. I think when you are living your daily life you wouldn't notice these things, but since all we had was time at home and on the internet, being social, it lead to some common frustrations. For me, I feel social media is a place to entertain, educate and inspire others. For others I think social media is a game... It's a place where they can create a facade, find false affirmations of themselves and investigate what others are doing and how they are living without them noticing. To put it in it's simplest terms much of what we see is fake, fake altered posts, fake followers, fake likes and fake friends. Now don't get me wrong this is just speaking from a personal perspective, this isn't related to marketing or business reach at all. This is mainly an observation regarding the cognitive behaviors of humans on social media. For some they are seeking validation through "likes" and "followers" and thus begins this cycle of inauthentic relationships, engagements and unvalued worth. So what does this all mean? We will never know because each person is unique in their motivations and desires through social and it depends on how authentic and true they actually are. 
3. I think I definitely gained weight - I don't have a scale and I am uncertain how much I weighed in February but I am pretty sure my waistline has seen better days LOL. A combination of inactivity, gym closures and lots of snacking has led to my realization. My husband did a great job of cooking for me and we ate everything that made us happy and content. I find a great sense of happiness and joy because of good food and I don't regret it, but it may take some extra time making my fitness goals again.
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In the end

You can see the benefits outweighed the negatives. I do believe we will make it through and the world may in fact become a better place, I hope. Moving forward it'll be a world that is more cognizant of the way we interact, the way we treat each other and the decisions we make. I can only hope that we can always consider what is best for the soul, for others and for the planet.