What day is it??

As most of you know, whether you reside in Canada or not, here in Ontario we are still in lockdown. Yes Yes, I know.. The world is opening up all around us and we are still in this state, that’s a whole other long rant on the topic!! I have been stuck in the confines of my apartment for lockdown Part Deux or five, I’ve lost count, for more than 170 days!! It’s been…. something, to say the least! There’s been a pendulum swing between emotional highs and lows, as I’m sure most of us around the world are all feeling!! This has definitely been a tough time for us! Being a hairstylist I haven’t been able to work, so staying busy is my main focus. It’s funny, friends and family who are working need a break and I can’t wait for my break to be over!! Damned if you do, damned if you don’t at times. I’ve gone through all the many phases.. the organizing phase, baking phase, colouring phase, addicted to amazon phase. The binge watching Netflix/Crave/Disney+ phase, taking online classes phase and the list goes on and on. Although the organizing and education phases were quite beneficial! I’m am now in the midst of two more courses. Recently I’ve gotten into my fitness and running phase, although my goal is to keep it as a permanent routine. I haven’t ran in a while, going back out there felt amazing. My legs on the other hand, didn’t feel quite as good the days following. All this time to reflect and sit in my thoughts has made me realize how much we really do take for granted. As we get older it’s all about work, and play only comes when and if we have the time! I saw a quote from Tommy Lee the other day that said “We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing” and isn’t it so true!! Where did those little children we were with big dreams and aspirations go? Writing has always been an action of play for me and I hadn’t written in almost a year before lockdowns began in 2020, which is so disappointing to me. I love writing but the busyness of day to day took my time away to sit and do the things I love so much! I bet we can all empathize. So many lives lost and people getting sick. Jobs and homes gone. Tolls taken on our mental health. The world as we know it, changed in an instant and here I am taking the little joys I love so dearly for granted and neglecting them. I remember so many times I would get asked to go out for dinner, drinks or even just a coffee by my friends and I would choose to just stay home. How I wish I was able to do those simple but fulfilling things now! So often we don’t realize how lucky we are until the things we know and love are gone and, now with this pandemic, I think we can all say many things were thrown into perspective. I know for me, just being in a state of gratitude for the things I have now in this stage of my life, has helped. Changing my way of thinking to a state of thankfulness as opposed to lack and pressure, which for a while was where my mind would consistently simmer. “I’m thirty six and I don’t have this”… “I’m almost forty and I’m not there yet.” After this past year, and seeing all the many devastations in the world, I needed to check myself and be in the present. It’s definitely hard, we are human after all and our minds tend to go to the negative more naturally. Let me tell you, Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday podcast has been a major help as well. That wonder of a woman has always been one of my major girl crushes!! If you have Spotify I urge you to listen to it, so much inspiration and motivation!! Today I was listening to her soothing voice and she said this… “Walk in the direction of the potential and possibilities”. Now I know right now that seems difficult with the state of our planet, but what I took from that is to walk towards the good. Instead of wallowing in sadness and focusing on the struggles we’re facing, steer with hope and direct ourselves towards whatever it is that makes us happy or at the very least try. That’s really all we can do right now, is try! I truly do believe that every part of life’s journey, the ups and the downs, propel us to our destination and help us become the people we were born to be. But as I also heard in one of Oprah’s many empowering podcasts, we need to enjoy the journey as well while we move along and look at what the hard times are trying to teach us. It is in the darkness that the best lessons are taught and we’ve all had our share! I believe tho as humans if we don’t have some tougher moments, how can we really appreciate the good?! Lives lost or illness excluded because that to me is always so unfair! Just some food for thought! So on this day, whatever day it is, I seem to always lose count, what this hard time in our history is teaching me is to be grateful. Grateful for where I’ve been and all the many lessons I have learned. Grateful for where I am and what I have in my present and grateful for the future ahead. Stay strong everyone, we will get through this!! 

Peace, Love & Gratitude xoxo