It’s Sunday, 19th April, it’s a beautiful day again. I am sitting in my studio. I can still hear the birds and noises from outside. I was out in the garden this morning to let the chickens out and then later in the meadow to water the greenhouse plants. The cucumbers and peppers have started growing. And so have the tomato seeds that I salvaged from an almost inedible tomato fruits bought from the shops. You never know with seeds like this whether they sprout and what kind of plant they become. But with seeds being sold at a premium right now or being completely out of stock, I’m doing what my grandmother was doing. Going back to the roots. I’m sure all the other seeds that are being sold in the shops have the same percentage of success but are better at being disease free. We learn to adapt.

This is a fourth week of the lockdown. Saturday 17th April was the first day I ventured outside the house for a bike ride with my daughters. Emina and I repeated it yesterday too. The least time before that I was out was 17th March – to teach my classes in Camyoga Shelford. So many things have happened since then. And it’s hard to adjust to all of this. It’s hard to keep the routines going although that seems to be the best option.

At this rate, it doesn’t look like the world will get back to normality for some months. And this is becoming our normality. Living behind the closed doors, which only get to open once the delivery drivers drop something off at the door (and Amazon and must be very busy right now!), we get the food delivered on a weekly basis from different companies and supermarkets. We start producing seeds and grow new salads and foods from scraps. We spend time together. I teach and continue some of my work online, and my husband does the same (he’s pretty much glued to his phone during the day). We talk to family members and friends via text, FaceTime, WhatsUp or Zoom. We teach our children, grade Reception, year 4 and 6 school time has become a norm during school term, using google, YouTube, computers, contact with the teachers and our time.  So technology has become vital. As is our time. Days and weeks go by and soon will be months. We adapt to this new life and everything seems to be running smoothly.

But is it? On the surface of it, we are managing this lockdown just easily. We are spending more time together, we are plodding along and we are trying to stay away and stay isolated as much as possible to protect ourselves and the others. But this is not a normal life. And soon, if not already, the cracks will start to show.

It is incredibly difficult to be isolated. For us, a relatively normal family, it’s a bit easier. But we are not used to this. And every person needs a break – a break in the garden, a break from this new “normality”. It is so important to have some perspective in life, otherwise this new life becomes boring and “existing” and surviving! We become like robots. Soon, our mental state suffers. Being together 24/7 as much as it is wonderful, is also incredibly hard. We need a bit of “social distancing” from each other inside this household.

Perhaps doing things together, like those exercise times during the day, or if you really cannot go out, painting, stone colouring, starting a new hobby or something like that is a really good and positive way of occupying your mind, being in your own world and yet still being together.

Creativity doesn’t come so easily in this new “normality”but it is possible. Try it! You might just like it!

Peace, love, light, and health to you all!

Namaste!