Lockdown is to be eased soon. Okay stage four to be exact. I am pleased and so proud of our President Ramaphosa. His light is shining on us all and his true statemanship is becoming the envy of the world. The 1st of May 2020 will be one very special day for us on the tip of Africa.
What does that mean for me personally? I am swept up in the euphoria. I couldn’t be happier for all of us. I am incredibly proud of being a South African right now. But stage four lockdown will be a more cautious step for me. Corona and Cancer are strange bedfellows. I am still classified as ‘vulnerable’ even though I am rearing to go! I feel healthy and happy. Ready to take on the world actually. The reality just needs to catch up with my mindset.
And where my mind is, is pivotal on this journey. It is imperative that I choose to be upbeat and it is a choice I make every morning. Yes, I am still reliant on the big guns of Western medicine. Much as I complain about itchy feet, I swallow the Xeloda tablets twice a day and wouldn’t dream of chucking them down the loo. I need them. I also need to tap into my other healing regime. Isolation cuts me off from many of the treatments I seek out…or at least it could. But 2020 and the power of the internet come to the rescue. Distance reiki sessions are as real as physical ones. Vision boards can be viewed on Zoom or Whatsapp video. Adjusting my body’s energy and removing any blocks to healing, can be down via email. Whatsapp groups connect me to much loved schoolmates and dearest family, friends and my writing tribe. Daily calls and messages keep me close to my beloved daughter. I can order homeopathic remedies via sms. My first online hypnosis session is scheduled for next week and I’ll be able to see and hear Dr Rink perfectly. I’ll even have my favourite blanket ready.
Luckily, Archie and Xena don’t do lockdown. Well, to be honest, Xena’s freedom is curtailed a bit. But Archie’s is definitely not. He’s been scarce lately. There’s more happening on his block and he’s very busy chasing squirrels and eye-ing the many birds who’ve arrived to nest in our trees. The ongoing territorial battle keeps him from my bed at night and at three am we sometimes break the rules a little, to allow Xena to rescue him from the neighbour’s cat.
My life, like yours, is different at the moment. There are times when this lockdown gets me down. I miss the physical contact. Actual shopping seems like another lifetime ago. I long for friends to pop in for a quick cup of coffee or a glass of wine. My little yellow Noddy car is languishing in the garage and will probably need a push start when this is over. Much as I treasure the time for contemplation, it’s enough already. I never thought I’d say this, but a little superficiality would be welcome. Small talk does have its place after all.
But the thread that pulls this dystopian existence together is still LOVE. No matter what our lives are like, that is the constant requirement. I need to give and receive it. There is no better antidote to fear. For me, this reality has been pulled into stark focus. I hope that as we travel through the lockdown phases and get to our new normal, we don’t forget the lesson.
Archie is dashing down the passage now. He’s been alerted to something going on in the back garden and there’s no time to stop for a quick chat. I did hear his signature miaow though, the one that means, ‘I still love you but I’m in a hurry.’
