To dwell or not to dwell…

Hey fellow Victorians,

I come to you live in lockdown, with a famous Shakespeare quote… or what I like to think the lockdown version should be; “to dwell or not to dwell.”

If you aren’t from Victoria, then you might not know (and you are living under a rock) but we are back into a 7-day lockdown with only 5 reasons to leave the house. It’s ironic really. You think everything is going so well, the weekend ahead is fully booked with events and socialising and then the next minute you are told to not leave your house for a whole week. Now as much as the social side of me is screaming from the inside, I know that my immune system and my brain who have been copping it heavily this year is grateful for the small rest period that we have ahead of us.

I am writing this with some positive light on the situation. Now don’t get me wrong, I know it’s rough and that so many people are impacted from this. But unfortunately, we can’t change it and so we have one of two options; to dwell or not to dwell. I don’t know about you folks, but I ain’t dwelling for the entire week.

So, here I have some fun ideas that you can do while in lockdown for these next 7 days to hopefully pick your spirits back up and feel rejuvenated when this lockdown ends.

• Read that book that you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t had the chance to yet.

• Do an online gym class or yoga session early one morning.

• Sleep in on another morning, because balance, right?

• Go for a walk with a bubble friend, support a local café while your there and get a takeaway coffee.

• Bake something sweet for you to enjoy after that workout above.

• Blast music in your living room and have a dance party with your family members, partner, animals or just yourself, cause why not!?

• Find a Bob Ross painting video on YouTube, use some scrap piece of paper, canvas or old t-shirt and copy it.

• Watch your favourite movie series with a large bowl of popcorn.

• Give yourself a facial, make it from scratch and enjoy that glowing skin.

• Drink a glass of wine or beer, maybe another one just to be sure it’s good…

• Check in with a mate, FaceTime or give them a phone call, ask them how they are really doing.

• Find gratitude questions and fill them out each day.

• Organise your life, find that diary or calendar that you stopped filling out and start filling it in again.

• Draw or colour in, get that brain back into childhood mode for a while.

• Hug your puppies or other animals.

• Enjoy the slow rest that you are giving your body, be present and take time to relax.

There are so many things that we could be sad or angry about to do with this lockdown, but personally I feel that it gets us nowhere and leaves us feeling worse. Accept that it is okay to not be okay about the entire situation, but please ensure that you put things in place to make you feel better. Place small things into practice every day and fill that cup with the things your body and mind need. It may not be the same as normal but there are ways around it. Find that balance of staying active but also processing the rest that your body needs coming into winter.

Look after yourself, your loved ones and your friends. We were in it together last time, and we are in it together again this time. Stay sane Vic!!! With love, AC x