Soon swarms of swallows will fill up the evening skies on their way North. I look forward to this autumnal spectacle but glad to have a few more weeks of warmth, long days and walks where I don’t have to be bundled up. I started wearing long sleeves and this morning added a cap to my walking ensemble because of a blustery south easter.
Now that the beach ban has lifted I hope to make at least one pilgrimage to Simon’s Town or Kalk Bay beach. So much to enjoy in our beautiful Cape but so little time left to enjoy summer. I have that end of summer nostalgia going on. You know the feeling. Very different from what my northern friends are feeling right now. Winter’s ending is never nostalgic but hopeful. I love all the seasons for their different moods.
I miss the long days of summer when it’s gone but not the excessive heat or the raging southeaster. Mornings are productive and everything starts earlier. In the evening I can still squeeze an hour or two of crafting or sewing with the last of the daylight hours.
In other news: Julius and Jacob had tea this week. Maybe the bromance will blossom once again. Jacob still refuses to appear before the Zondo Commission and had harsh words for the ConCord. What does all this mean? I guess time will tell. A few more days of loadshedding reminded us all to stock up on candles or to charge our solar lamps. I am adding a manual coffee grinder to the list of essentials because there is nothing more irritating (in my life at least) when you can’t grind your beans for the ritual mug of morning coffee.
I can’t enjoy my morning coffee on the back stoep today because the wind is too chilly so I’m hanging out in the lounge with sleeping dogs.
Southerners, enjoy the last few weeks of summer. Northerners, enjoy the hopefulness of winter ending.
Friends, associates, fellow-travellers, relations, citizens. How is everyone doing today? In addition to the advice from authorities about ways to avoid infection and to deal with infections I am throwing in my 10 cents here.
Can we all take a deep breath?
There is research that shows a human brain or mind (which is what I prefer because it is all of you – not just your brain) is incapable of good thinking and good choices when it is under attack or under the wrong kind of stress. I forgot where that research is located in the www but trust me it’s there. If you want to run a test just ask someone to experiment with you – shout at them asking them to fix something or come up with something and see what happens – then reverse and let them do the same to you. How did that feel? I’m sure this has happened to you at work or someplace else and it was only afterwards you thought; “If only I would have said this or that at the time”. The reason why you couldn’t come up with the right retort, reply or come-back line is that your hormones – fight or flight – were in control and the prefrontal cortex was basically disabled. Forgive yourself for all the times you couldn’t come up with the right words. Also, to go off on a tangent, never argue with someone who has a damaged prefrontal cortex – it isn’t worth it.
Then do something different. Sit together, breathe together, take turns to ask each other the good questions. Listen deeply, don’t interrupt, listen generatively without thinking of what you want to say, pay attention. How does this make you feel? Good right? If you are a Thinking Environment practitioner, I know you are high-fiving me right now. Another tangent – don’t do this with people who have attention deficit and similar disorders or those who only like to hear their own voices and only interested in their own thinking – it isn’t worth it.
Checking the internet every hour – or the radio in my case – for Covid-19 updates may not be the best thing to do but it’s hard right – FOMO is a real thing. So, once you’ve done that, some more breathing and then go do something that will support your well-being.
Support your well-being
I can’t tell you what this would be for you. I can only share what works for me.
Hanging out with my dogs and my tribe
Morning walks
Watching my favourite you-tubers like Minnie Small, Haegreendal, Kelly Hogan – My zero carb life, The Daily Show, Evelyn from the Internets, Mimi-G, I Sew A Lot, Jimmy Kimmel, Katie Green, KenDBerry, Lasizwe Dambuza – I miss those Dirkie episodes, Northern Heart, NPR Music and a few more
Putting on some Stevie Wonder, Drake, Rihanna, Cardi B, Khalid, Bruno Mars, ColdPlay, Bee Gees, Ariana etc. and getting my groove on
Sewing -Machine or Hand Stitching – it’s a growing obsession which is becoming serious
Learning to code (front-end) – it’s a growing obsession which is becoming serious
Reading – I have a serious committed relationship with books
Documenting life – in a variety of ways – writing, doodling, photography etc
Netflix, Showmax etc. – when we are not loadshedding
Spending time outdoors – in my garden, someone else’s garden, local parks, national parks, getting some sunshine on a porch/stoep/balcony
Covid-19 is not our first crisis and will not be our last. It is not the apocalypse but I can’t be one hundred percent sure. The death rate is low compared to other illnesses. However, if it is the apocalypse, the end of times, our last days and months on earth I want you to remember what people did in their last minutes before those planes went down on 9/11. They called home, they reached out to loved ones, they hugged. I’m sure there was screaming and terror but Covid-19 will give us time to decide how to act when the end comes, if it comes.
So, do what my dog Miles does, live your best life now.
