Strange times we are living in! I know a lot of people are ‘feeling all the feels’ right now: anxiety, grief, fear, frustration, boredom, confusion… If you feel like you could use some extra support right now with this Covid -19 situation I have a video for you that will keep you physically and mentally well. (Link to the video is at the bottom of this post so keep scrolling).
Hard and Wonderful
The saying ‘We Can Do Hard Things’ has been stuck on my fridge for some time now and today I’m adding another saying: ‘Isn’t Life Wonderful?’.
The catch phrase ‘We Can Do Hard Things’ I ‘stole’ from author Glennon Melton’s work and the catch phrase ‘Isn’t Life Wonderful?’ was something I read in a post from Holly Branson (daughter of Virgin CEO Richard Branson).
Holly shared the phrase in reference to her grandfather (who has now passed). She wrote that he was born in 1918, was an absolute joy to be with and one of his daily sayings was ‘Isn’t life wonderful?’ which he would say every day at 5PM as he enjoyed his gin and tonic.
I love that and it’s going to be my new mantra too (and maybe the gin and tonic ritual as well now that I’m home schooling lol!
We all can appreciate the balance between having to do hard things in life while at the sometime appreciating the beauty of it. I am reminded of this now that I am self quarantining with the boys (Steve continues to go to work while I am working reduced hours from home).
This quarantine is broken up with our twice daily dog walks around our neighbourhood (socially distancing from neighbours of course). Although it is quite cold for April the blossoms are incredible right now and getting outside to see the sun and all these signs of spring gives us such a lift.
Gandalf Wisdom
We did it!
It took almost a year but Will and I completed the Lord of The Rings trilogy (LOTR) as well as The Hobbit (which we read first).
I didn’t read to Will nightly, more like a few times week and I found it one of the highlights of my day!
Now I know why these books, the first of which were published in 1937 just prior to the Second World War, have NEVER been out of print.
I can also now understand why George R.R. Martin (author of the Game of Thrones series) said he based his stories on J. R. R. Tolkien’s LOTR saga. It is fitting that the The Lord of the Rings made the list for the top 50 books of all time, and some say that Tolkien wrote LOTR as his way to process his experiences of World War I.
If you haven’t seen the movies or read the books, Gandalf the Grey is a wise wizard and the leader of the Fellowship of the Ring, and I think his words to Frodo (below) are applicable to what is going on in the world right now. (*Frodo is a Hobbit of the Shire who inherits the ring and becomes the ring bearer at a dark and scary time).
Focus on what you CAN control
We can’t control what is happening with this Corona Virus outbreak but we can control how we react to it.
I am working on staying grounded and calm during these uncertain days and in my new video (below) I share the 6 tools I use consistently to keep the peace within me.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I certainly have my moments!
Home schooling kids while working, and parenting a child with special needs who loves routine and consistency when all that routine has fallen away, will push anyones buttons let me tell you! But for the most part I’m staying pretty even keeled and optimistic.
If You Need Additional Support
If you have been finding your anxiety increasing or have been feeling low, then I hope you will find my new video helpful. And I would love to hear how you are staying grounded during these turbulent days so please share in the comments over on YouTube or shoot me an email. ritchiee@telus.net
At this time, I continue to see clients via phone and Zoom conferencing and all you need to do is call me at Tel: 604-803-1567 or email me ritchiee@telus.net to set up an appointment.
My schedule is fairly flexible and sessions can be booked in the daytime / evenings and on Saturdays. (I don’t work Sundays that is my ‘Sabbath’ so to speak).
*All appointments run 50 minutes and are $135 per session and depending on whether you have a employee health plan (Pacific Blue Cross, Sun Life etc.) / or whether my credentials ( ‘RCC’ – Registered Clinical Counsellor) are accepted, the session costs may be covered by your employee benefits plan.
For those without benefits who may be experiencing cash flow issues right now (as many are due to this Covid-19 crisis) , I also offer a sliding scale (reduced rates) so please reach out if you feel you could benefit from 1:1 counselling.
Take care, stay safe, stay in – we will all get through this together!
xo
Elizabeth