Due to the many lockdowns around the world, there are less pollution in terms of less cars, less planes, or less plastic usage or a significant decrease in many pollution sources. While we are all quarantining & panicking about COVID-19, the Earth is healing. Based on the WHO around 7 million people are killed every year due to the air pollution worldwide. And now with research shows that even the Ozone layer is currently self-healing, which will directly fix the global warming.
So, isn’t it the time now to reflect on this current time as an opportunity to heal same as the Earth. Dive deep inside & check on what really need you to work on to heal. You need to come back stronger & work on this quarantine or COVID-19 as a منحة instead of محنة or take it as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. I personally, started to heal internally from anything that is negatively effecting me. So, I have started to come closer to Allah in every aspect during my day & taking it one day at a time. Yes, part of faith is fear & no weakness in this. Fear of sickness or fear of death can be a good drive to positive results.
It is also time to start journaling through reflecting. Use your current free time in reflecting & investing in yourself more. You can take this opportunity to read more books or write/reflect more. You can take the opportunity to detach from every negative habit you have & attach to every positive habit you have or learn the positive habits that you have wished for. It is your responsibility to practice social distancing & dive deeply inwards relaxing.
What I do to self care about myself is:
Detach from the noise; stop consuming unnecessary content. Watch your time online scrolling around WhatsApp messages or Facebook posts or Instagram pictures. Yeah, it is hard to do so I know. However, try your best to limit yourself. Just to detach from stress & panicking. Stay informed without panicking.
Read a lot; keep reading different books to explore different ideas & learn new thoughts.
Create a nice playlist; to tune it on during working from home or working out or whatever activity you are doing through the day. So, you are putting yourself in a good mood.
Keep an agenda or a to-do list; this will help you be aware of which day are we in? when are we in the day? what things need to be done today or this week?
Keep a journal; this will help you translate your thoughts & feelings in a safe space to understand the chaos going inside. You can use a guided prompts to help or a gratitude list to keep you positive.
Learn something new online; you can do this with free courses or paid ones to learn something you wished to learn with no free time to so so. You can explore things related to your work or side projects to fill your time & keep yourself busy with good things.
Keep cleaning & organizing; this is the first thing I have done to be ready for working from home. It is not a day, it is almost 3 weeks now & still counting. So, you need to work professionally with a desk & chair instead of working from the comfort of your sofa or bed. Take good care of your health (neck, backbone, ... etc.).
Meditate daily; mediation is different than yoga just to be clear. You can start & end your day with 5-10 deep breaths that can help calm your body. You can also smile once you wake up in front of a mirror to set your mentality to be positive. You can even sit while repeating some mantras to dig deeper in your inner thoughts & find a trend in your thoughts.
Listen to a podcast; it is time to listen to others thoughts & learn new things while finishing your daily chores like cooking or laundry.
Watch a nice series or movie daily; the last thing before sleeping should be simple & fun. So, everyday tune in to a film that you wished to see or a series that you really like.
Stay connected with others; you can call your relatives & friends to stay connected. You can set some time daily to post updates to your social media accounts to stay connected through liking or commenting as well.
Be productive; get things done for your work or your side projects. No rush, you have a lot of time to work on the things that you didn’t have enough time before.
Stay fashionable; yes every morning get up, wear your clothes, and put your makeup on. This will help you change your mood from PJs to getting things done.
Get some fresh air; you can have a short walk or run. You can sit by an open window for example & get some Vitamin D.
Sleep well; take the opportunity to sleep well for 8 hours daily. This will help recharge your body & mind.
Take some time to take care of yourself; put a face-mask or do a hair-mask. Maybe take some time for a nice pedicure & manicure. Do something for your beauty care.
What are you doing during this quarantine? How are you enjoying yourself while social distancing?