Emma Ryan

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Back to Basics [COVID-19]

Hello, friends!

What an interesting time to be alive, right? Our entire world is shifting, and we don’t know for how long, what is to come, or really anything at all. This all started as I was in the middle of my annual vacation. I woke up around 4am to my phone blowing up and everyone telling me I wasn’t going to be able to fly back to the United States if I didn’t get on a plane, like NOW. Even though that was far from from the truth, it was still a very odd feeling. Long story short, I finished my vacation as planned and made it home without any issues. However, I did come home with some pretty entertaining stories about the pure chaos of the airports during this time! It was totally worth it in my opinion.

Now, I am home, in self-quarantine. I don’t think my self-quarantine is much different than anyone else’s typical day right now though, considering everything is closed and pretty much everyone is on house arrest. To be honest, I was kind of dreading this so called quarantine. But now, I am loving it.

I think there are a lot of positives that come from our cities shutting down and people being forced to work from home. Don’t get me wrong, our economy is tanking and there are A LOT of things to be concerned about. After all I have two businesses that are being drastically affected by this and to be honest I don’t know how this is all going to play out, but I can’t sit and dwell on what I cannot control. So, I choose to look at the upsides.

The upside is this - we are being forced to go “back to the basics.”

Families are spending more time together. People are spending more time outside. We are taking more time for ourselves. Friend groups are learning how to connect virtually. Board games and card games are being brought out from dusty drawers and closets. People are cooking at home. We are exercising more. Families are communicating more. And the list goes on.

It’s a pretty neat thing in my opinion. Even for myself, I feel like there is so much more time in the day when I do literally everything from my home. I am taking time to read, to cycle, and to sit and just be.

So, with all of this chaos in the world, I encourage you to go back to the basics, whatever that means for you. Look at this “break” as a positive and enjoy the peace and quiet while you can. If you don’t know where to start, just start by sitting outside and focusing on your breath. If you can get behind the idea that everything happens for a reason, then you should be able to find some positives in each day, no matter how much this may be affecting you and your families.

Lots of love to you all!

xo, 

Emma