Quarantine

How are you doing with quarantine?  

The world has gotten strange in a hurry.  After making it back from Bali, we returned to Winthrop, Washington to house sit again.  Then things started to get crazy. Shops and restaurants in town started closing. The grocery store was a madhouse.  Events were being cancelled left and right. A couple days before our next scheduled house sit in Rossland, British Columbia our host double checked that we were still coming.  Then, four hours later, wrote us back to say that Canada put a travel ban in effect so they would not be taking their spring break trip. The next day we were set to leave Winthrop and had to make the tough decision to forgo heading to Canada and haul for Colorado- the closest thing we have to a home at this point.  That afternoon, as we were nearing Spokane we heard that the border closed. Strangely, going back to Colorado after living in the sleepy isolation of the Methow Valley for a couple weeks felt like we were turning right into harm’s way. All we could think is, ‘What is going on?’

We are very lucky that we had somewhere to go.  After getting back, we did a big stock up grocery run and settled in as we prepared to be quarantined for an undetermined amount of time.  It took a few days to settle back in and unpack. Then we started reflecting on feelings of cabin fever and boredom before realizing what an incredible opportunity this is to rest, integrate all we’ve been learning and focus our energy in different ways.  The creative process often benefits from boredom and ‘down time’ because your mind is free to wander instead of being trapped in your usual patterns of thought preoccupied by routine. What could time in quarantine make possible? Rest. Time at home to reconnect with your partner.  Time to spend with your kids. Reconnecting with family and friends lost to the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Time to write. Time to create. Time to paint. Time to make music. Time to make a business plan. Time to cook. Time to decompress.  

In these uncertain times, the world is forcing us to get back to basics.  It’s pleading with us to see that nature is resilient and showing encouraging signs from continent to continent.  It’s reminding us that we exist with nature- not separate from it. It’s telling us to slow down. Amongst this madness, there are incredible stories of good hearted humanity.  How can we use this time in quarantine to make positive change? 🐾