Covid19- The travel to “possible now”

Hi Players,

It has been a while since I wrote or traveled.

I was lucky to travel to South America in February when there were only the first signs of COVID-19 in the faraway land of China, and the pandemic had nothing to do with my life.

It all changed very quickly, and a new vocabulary invaded our lives. Soon enough, I had to cancel two planned trips to Europe and the USA, and the next trip was nowhere on the horizon.

Travel, which is my “happy place” and the “birthplace” of play, fun, creativity, and thoughts, was completely removed from my life.

As an addicted travel-holic, I felt that my “drug”  was taken away from me forever, and it seemed as if there was no hope for the future.

Shortly after the first “shock” and the realization that COVID-19 is here to stay, I revisited the reasons I started this blog in the first place.

The reason was to bring back play into my life because, in my opinion, Play grounds Life.

I realized that having play in my life when everything goes well is no big deal (though it sure is).

The real challenge and test to success is staying playful when there is no apparent reason to “play” or have “fun.”

After all, people are dying, the economic situation is deteriorating, and so on.

I have noticed that this is the actual, real-time practice of “carpe diem”—seize the moment, live in the NOW.

I don’t think there was a similar time in my life when it was so difficult, even sometimes impossible, to plan for the future, so I had no choice but to live in the Now, living from one day to another.

Nevertheless, I had the ultimate choice of “how” to live.

When I studied positive psychology a few years ago, I learned a new skill to develop personal resilience,

“Re-framing”.

Unlike what people usually think, it is not about denying the current situation or painting your reality with pink colors

but rather about taking a broader approach to what is possible. It is about looking at the whole puzzle rather than just one small piece.

So, when coronavirus invaded my life, I decided to practice what I had learned and started to look at COVID-19 through a wider lens.

I played in my mind with the word, and this is what I came up with.

This is my COVID-19 approach that carries me through these unusual, challenging circumstances.

COVID-

C- From Chaos to Creation

O- Open-minded and Opportunity

V- Victory re-defined

I- Interaction re-design

D- From Dread to Development

C- From Chaos to Creativity- My routine was in chaos during the first few weeks.

I worked at different hours than I was used to. The busy “after-work” curriculum I regularly had was canceled, so I had much free time.

It soon became noticeably clear that Chaos is the birthplace of opportunity. In the void, everything is possible. Free time can be filled with so many things.

There was a sudden burst of creativity everywhere around me. People started to cook, bake, renovate their homes, sing together on the balconies, and create beautiful virtual choirs.

The absence of physical connection created the need to compensate for losing old habits and learn new skills to fill the gap. For the first time in my life, I made  “chalah,” and it was so fun playing with the dough.

Since then, making “chalah”  has become a new habit I enjoy. (especially eating it).

There is a greater need for creativity and innovation when there are limitations and restrictions.

When chaos exists, there is an opportunity for new, refreshing, creative order, and thankfully, the human imagination is endless.

Chala in the making

O- Open-minded and Opportunity -Yes it sucks.

I wish we did not have to go through all this, but I see no point in complaining.

Once you accept a new situation and open your mind, you start to see opportunities.

I turned a big box of mugs I have collected for many years from around the world into a new mosaic in the kitchen.

The new mosaic constantly reminds us that something broken can become beautiful.

Breaking the mugs, playing with colorful pieces, and creating something new was playful and fun.

I am looking forward to having more time to add to my mosaic.

Broken pieces turn into new creation

V– Victory -We can win every situation. period. The secret is redefining what victory means. 

For example, I can define Victory as “winning the marathon,” or I can define victory as “running the marathon.”

We can’t ignore the change in our lives, which cannot be overlooked, but we can adjust how we define our “victory.”

The new victory may be smaller or more modest, but it will still be a victory in our eyes if we believe it is. The change should not be considered negative but different; this is what growth and agility are all about.

My victory is embracing a new routine that makes me happy.

When the gym closed, I created my own gym in the living room. Similarly, when the workshop closed, I created my own workshop space.

I am not stopping; I am changing.

homey gym

- Interaction – We are used to interacting with others in a certain way. Social distancing forced us to find other meaningful ways to interact with others.

We became more mindful of personal space. Less pushing in line at the supermarket means more kindness toward people in need or older people.

We expanded our connections. I did Zumba with a facilitator from the Dominican Republic and students from around the world. How cool is that?

We had Passover dinner on Zoom and celebrated my niece’s Bat Mitzvah, who lives in Australia, through Zoom, something that was possible before but not considered an option at all.

I agree it is no match for being actually together in the same room, but many people live alone.

For them, the “social distance” zoom became the first real human “touch.” It became the source of connections to others—a connection that was missing in their lives.

I believe that “social distancing” did not distance us from each other; rather, it made us feel much closer and created more ways to feel connected.

D- From Dread to Development – There are many good reasons for dread; the situation is scary.

Yet, dread and fear are not new feelings to anyone; they are always here and our companions wherever we go.

I love how the writer Elizabeth Gilbert describes her relationship with fear.

She says that fear can join the journey and express his opinion, but fear always sits in the back seat. He is never at the wheel, and he does not get to say where to go.

We are driving and navigating our lives. We must embrace the dread and use it as fuel for our development.

In this crisis, I developed new skills, mainly improving my hula hooping, which will serve me well in the future.

19 – I love finding meaning in numbers.

The number 19 is in Hebrew the name “איוב”.

It is the name of Job, the central figure of the Book of Job in the Bible.

The book tells the story of Job, a righteous, wealthy man who withstands great suffering without complaint. Everything that happened to him was a test of his faith.

I wonder if COVID-19 is our test as well….

Playfully yours,

Rina😊