10 months 10 resolutions - Surviving COVID19

10 months 10 resolutions - Surviving COVID19 I decided at the beginning of 2020 that I was going to make 12 smaller resolutions – one per month- rather than one resolution for the whole year. I started off the year with a small goal. I was going to watch less CNN. I know. Reach for the stars, Judy. Then COVID 19 hit. Lately, I’ve been watching so much CNN, Wolf Blitzer should have me on as an expert guest. Like many, I was in shock. The self-quarantining didn’t help. Everything I tried to do, I felt like I was in a spacesuit. Daily life seemed heavy and cumbersome. Being asked to do nothing was like being asked to do everything. Where to start? How to start? Did it really matter? Slowly, the confusion started to clear. Like Sandra Bullock in Gravity, I found a manual. Everyone’s manual is different. Here’s what’s working for me – so far. Ask me in ten minutes. Step 1 Give Yourself a Break Be patient to yourself. Be kind. Our minds have funny ways of turning on us. You know you’ve got demons when American Horror Story starts contacting YOU for script ideas. Don’t beat yourself up in this process. As Drag Race’s Rupaul says; “If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” Step 2 Find Your Routine This situation ISN’T normal so stop trying to do everything like you used to. Take a look at your old routine and figure out what works NOW. Put the rest in the co-pilot seat. Consider ADDING something to your new routine. Pull up a You Tube Video and learn a new recipe or a new language or heck, pull up a Bob Ross video. Who doesn’t love Bob Ross??? Omg, is painting this easy? Could this be my new profession??? Not. Those happy little trees are happier without me. Step 3 Exercise Beg your dog to go on yet another walk with you. Give thanks for all those happy little trees. Step 4 Laugh- a lot- and don’t hoard toilet paper Find something that makes you pee your pants laughing. May I suggest Episode 5, Season 2 of ‘Barry’ on HBO. That’s all I’m going to say. Speaking of peeing your pants, don’t hoard toilet paper. Have you ever watched Survivor, Alone or Naked and Afraid? Does anyone EVER bring toilet paper to the island as their luxury item? If they did, they should get their tiki torch put out. Don’t be a loser. Step 5 – Reach out In a time of social isolation, this seems contradictory. Practice doing one thing for someone else every day. Phone, write a short email, or make a small online donation to one of the many non- profit organizations. If you live in Toronto, may I suggest City Street Outreach? One year from today, it will change who you are. If it doesn’t, it will make a small or big change for someone else. Hang in there, Earthlings. Our blue marble needs a break. With the help of our true heroes – doctors, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, cashiers and SO many more – we will get through this and get another crack at getting our mission right. We owe it to those who, sadly, will lose their lives to this virus. xo