I perhaps spoke too soon last week regarding our freedom when in a matter of days we’ve found ourselves in lockdown 4.0 in Melbourne! And no, I didn’t see that one coming, which goes to show how fast COVID-19 moves especially now with the different variants. I feel very grateful to have celebrated a happy occasion last weekend and sad for those who had local or interstate celebrations and business booked over this seven day period. There have been many more exposure sites this time around as much as cases seem to have been relatively contained – my own team at work had a near miss after going to St. Charly cafe (because the Green Man’s Arms hotel was closed) for lunch on Monday.
Fingers crossed it won’t be any longer and while I’m personally relieved to have had things placed on ice this week (three events were cancelled but I was only wanting to attend one of them), some of my family and friends are feeling the effects of the past 18 months and it has been a mental battle for many of them who are feeling worn down or worse. Self-care is really important because if you’re not OK, you can’t be there for anyone else. Make sure you access any support you may need over this time.
The sun has made things bearable today and it’s good if you can spend at least 15 minutes outdoors every day over Winter. I’ve spent time in my garden today and will go for a run before the sun sets tonight although I’m expecting it to be like Bourke Street at the park. It’s not just the sun that’s made me happy but also that I’ve been able to book my first COVID-19 vaccination. If you haven’t had any luck on the hotline – online bookings can be made at Northern Health in Epping. It doesn’t really help to get too emotional about things for me – we are where we are and things feel different this time around because there is a vaccine and we can take action to help ourselves and play a small part in moving beyond this global pandemic. And make no mistake, I think we’re all very keen to move on and have life return to some semblance of normal instead of this stop start existence.
It’s important to remember too that this time won’t be forever and even in this strange in between time in our world, we need to feel like we are still living our lives. Whatever gives you a feeling of being in the moment or ‘flow’ is a great comfort and antidote to negativity and pessimism in terms of focusing on what you can do – it can be a period of great creativity and imagination. Things will get better but this year was always going to be the sequel to last year. I’m hopeful that 2022 will be better if you can take a long view. This whole pandemic has been a lesson in patience and acceptance.
Mr Rosanna has actually been doing a high performance mindfulness course at work, which he’s found quite transformative and that’s saying a lot as he’s done many courses over the years but this one seems to have stuck. He’s been inspired to buy this book ‘Breath’ by James Nestor and I’m looking forward to reading it after him – breath (or pranayama) is an important focus of yoga and one of the reasons one why I think yoga is so beneficial and not just at a physical level. If you can remember to breathe and let go if you’re feeling tense for whatever reason, it can be incredibly calming.
I’ve reverted to working from home this week but been busy helping recruit alumni once again for ANZSOG’s upcoming marketing campaign and we have some very high profile public sector leaders currently doing leadership courses with us. This time around, I hope to take a more active role in the process rather than just at the start and I’ll share more on that in coming months.
Finally, while I think the local real estate market won’t pick up again until Spring, this beautiful Art Deco house at 24 Wilfred Road in East Ivanhoe is up for sale and I’ve driven past it a number of times over the years. While the renovated interiors are perhaps a little dated, I love that they’ve retained the original bathroom and the exterior spaces are gorgeous. What an idyllic environment for one lucky family.
Miss Rosanna 