35 Thought-Provoking Insights From Illumination Writers in Lockdown
Designing the best approach to life beyond lockdown

Living your best life is not about opening many doors, it’s about opening the right door. With most countries coming to grips with the ‘new normal,’ it is terribly important that we stand before the right door.
Early in May, I asked twelve reflective questions on lockdown. These questions were answered by various illumination writers and their insightful answers have been a beacon of light , guiding me through the fog of uncertainty to the right door.
I share 35 of my favourite responses below and I hope they do the same for you.
Section A: Illumination writers share their top tips for thriving in lockdown
1. Take time to go within. This is a time for us to connect with ourselves. Many of us have been slowed down from the busyness of life. Ask yourself questions — and listen for the answers. Think about what you would want your life to be like moving forward. What changes are you excited to make? Which are you afraid to make? Find the courage to live the life you desire. — Michele Thill
2. Be and become your best wherever you are. - Kathryn A. LeRoy, Ph.D.
3. Find yourself. Far too long, you have neglected that person. Indulge, explore, and listen- to yourself. Discover yourself. — Manasi Diwakar
4. It’s alright. It’s alright if you are unable to cope with life at the moment or are unable to do anything productive. It’s okay if you are just taking it day-by-day. It’s okay if you are just being. It will sound cliché, but it does get better. The world will undergo a major change, but it will be for the better. So, take it easy. Be safe. Eat well. Sleep well. Take care of yourself. That is more than enough. You don’t need to conquer the world right now, or even after. - Dipti Pande
5. Reset. Whatever that means. To look into yourself, with no pressures, no to-do lists and find out more about yourself, to be at peace with who you our and remain in the moment. Switch off the News. Reduce the scrolling. Drink lots of water. Go on a walk. — Keno Ogbo
6. Relax and enjoy the stillness and slowness. It may be your first and last chance when you got plenty of time to reflect and look back. Create. Enjoy.- Livia Dabs
7. This is the best time to map out a plan to live a dream. Figure out what it is you’d love doing even if you weren’t paid a penny to do it, and then figure out how to make it make you more than a penny. I’m writing books. This is the best time to invest time and energy in doing something for yourself. — Henery X (long)
8. Find things that truly bring you joy in your home. Truly nurture and take care of your home and you will feel the joy. Take care to clean your home with joy and in turn you will feel better. — Trista Ainsworth
9. Control only what you can — which is yourself. You can’t control anything beyond what is right in front of you. Find an outlet for emotion. Find some productive, goal-bound habit to sublimate your stress, sadness, extra energy. Significantly limit news coverage. As someone trained in journalism who had watched the industry scramble to survive the digital transition, I think that some of the reporting going on is highly disappointing. There has been a lot of coverage for shock value and to capture attention. Do not try to make sense of anything political going on in the country right now. Trying to apply reason and logic to the polarised squabbling, the confirmation bias arguments, is an absolute waste of time and mental capacity. -Russell Weigandt
10. Do the best that you can with the tools that you have at your disposal. We all have unique challenges and things for which we can be grateful, so I would say do your best and do what only you can do. — Aurora Eliam, CMP
11. Enjoy the moment. Don’t try too hard to keep the before lockdown routines. Take it as it comes and be kind to yourself. These are special times, you don’t need to add additional constraints on your being. -KeepingItRealWithAnnick
12. Find your anchor and pivot. Trust on the ambiguity of tomorrow and know that if you are everything you can be in every moment, the ambiguity of the future will not be as frightful as it sounds. - Selma
13. If you’re fortunate not to have been directly affected by COVID-19, and if the lockdown has given you extra time, set yourself challenges. Try to include in your day things you always said you wanted to do but didn’t have the time for (and don’t require leaving your house!). - Daniella Mini
14. Stay home, even after things start opening up. Learn to trim your own hair, do your own nails, cook (grow) your own food, and get used to ‘Stay at Home’ orders, because there are already splinter strains of this virus that may cause future lockdowns. I’m not trying to be an alarmist, just a realist who prepares for the worst and hopes for the best. I mean who would have guessed a shortage of asswipe? But now that we know, we should gradually stock up as we are able. Also, hand sanitizer, alcohol, peroxide, over-the-counter medications. Perhaps arrange to order prescriptions by mail. Stock your freezer and pantry — mostly the pantry — flour, yeast, canned goods, etc. We have to be a little proactive here. - Terri DelCampo-Nelson
15. Find those one or two things that anchor you currently and make those a non-negotiable priority. For me it is daily walks and set times for my wife and I to tune out the world and simply do something mindless. Everybody will have their own little thing whether it is doing a home workout or sitting in silence on your deck and watching the sunrise (or set). Hold on dearly to those. — Timothy Key
16. Breathe — just know that all this will pass. The light at the end of the tunnel will come into focus and we WILL come into the light stronger and more resilient for the experience. - Helen Boss
Section B: Illumination writers share personal reflections from lockdown
17. I am more afraid, but less scared. More concerned, but with fewer doubts than I’ve ever had. I have locked eyes with Reality and fucking dared it to blink and thus far am on the winning side of more areas of my life then when I entered the lockdown. Can I recount each moment of change — not a chance. I am more worried about man now, but far more confident in Mankind. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but in some 1960s, acid-related context, it’s made me a better person. -Joe Luca
18. I am even more aware limits have been pushed Mother Nature revoking permission to be ambushed I dream we do not unpause and return to the same But use it as a chance to write a whole new game — Amy Marley
19. It has reinforced my belief that we’re totally at the mercy of historical events (along with the weather, and our health). A year ago, we couldn’t have imagined our world being shut down like this. — Jean Shortall-Roznik
20. I feel that I have found my voice. I have been working hard in therapy ever since my timeout last fall. I think all the pieces have come together during this period, and I am ready to emerge as the authentic self I had hidden away beneath masks throughout my professional career and early adulthood. — Russell Weigandt
21. Lockdown has made me simultaneously more resilient and frustrated. It has also shown me what I can do without and what’s really important. It’s brought into vivid focus for me who I respect for their resolve and ability to handle difficulties and who I simply shake my head at for their frivolity and selfishness. - Terri DelCampo-Nelson
22. I am less keen on engaging with society and going out. I’ve always known I liked being at home, but I am going to struggle to get back to the old abnormal way of living. - Besom & Bletherskite
23. Lockdown has taught me that I need to seek out balance in my life, pandemic or not. — Aurora Eliam, CMP
Section C: Illumination writers share a message for the future
24. Things will be better in the future. Times of challenge brings out people’s leadership skills (or lack thereof). We can use that information to evaluate who will be better suited to lead us in the future. We can plan how to be resilient and to prepare for future issues. We can change the future for the better. - Chris Hedges
25. Stop pushing each other while buying groceries, stop hitting doctors and nurses, stop asking doctors and nurses to vacate their rented apartments, stop treating people in the name of religion, stop exaggerating about yourself on social media that you paid in advance to your maid when you are not earning, stop supporting the government when the government did nothing for this emergency. Stop losing your friends over some politicians and stop this bullshit of saying I am there for you. God is there for us. Humans cannot replace god ever. - Gurpreet Dhariwal
26. Try your best to stay calm during a crisis Good thing bad thing who really knows Time will eventually reveal and expose — Amy Marley
27. Globally, live as simply as you can. The less you have the less you have to lose. Give a thought to waste. It may be cliché, but people are hungry and homeless. Take less for yourself so you have something left to share with others when all is said and done — even if it’s with the squirrels in your yard. Taking more than you need to live is wrong, especially with the situation as it is right now. Not only with products on grocery shelves, but fuel for cars, hunting for sport, clearing land and forcing animals from their habitats to build unnecessary housing developments — just to name a few things. We need to take a long hard look at what’s important — what we need to survive — and what’s just nonsense. We need to put down the technology and take walks in what’s left of nature and realise what we have to lose — and fix our problems before we make choices to wipe ourselves and thousands of other species out of existence. On a more personal level, go with your basic needs, and take care of yourself. Don’t let your hormones rule you — get an education and realise your main dreams, whether they are to travel or have a career, before you give in to nesting instinct. Give a thought to the exponentially expanding world population and don’t bring children into the world just because it’s expected. Have one child and cherish it — raise it to be loving and caring of all people and animals and the earth. Because we only have one. - Terri DelCampo-Nelson
28. Remain optimistic but be ready and not unaware. Frequently remind those whom you love that you love them. — MaryJo Wagner, PhD
29.Don’t let anybody steal opportunities from you. Love is absolutely the only thing that matters. Figure out the people who really love you and stand by them. Be good to your mother (if she’s good to you). Don’t offer advice unless it’s asked for and even if it’s asked for, expect it to be ignored. Travel if you can, it really does broaden your mind. Don’t be afraid to block toxic people from your life. Don’t be afraid to say no. Take a moment to feel joy, every single day. When you give, do not expect to receive anything in return. Give generously and from your heart and you will feel blessed. And do not loan anything out that you cannot afford not to have returned. Read the book Without Conscience Psychopaths Amongst us by Dr Robert Hare, and protect yourself accordingly. - Besom & Bletherskite
30. Always be grateful for everything you get in life and also for the things you luckily didn’t get. - Yamin Ohmar
31.Appreciate all you have now, for when we look back in time we realise that we had it then too. - Helen Boss
32. You already have in your heart, soul and body what you need. You don’t need to change, you just need to grow. Just like a beautiful plant, you have all of the elements you need already. Just keep growing and reaching and expanding as a person to reach your highest potential. Share your light and your gifts daily with the world. Don’t be afraid to share them! — Trista Ainsworth
33. Remember this, remember how it contributed in making you the way you are now. Be grateful. - KeepingItRealWithAnnick
34. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Take care of your health and continue to practice kindness and compassion. Keep rescuing animals, as many as you can. — Aurora Eliam, CMP
35. I have learnt to embrace the uncertainty, to let go of things beyond my control, and how to make the most of whatever I have. — Saloni Joshi
(Notes to tagged writers. Thank you for your responses to the 12 lockdown questions. I have made very slight adjustments to a few responses for readability. If you want these re-adjusted, or your response removed. Please let me know)
Here are the original questions:
Here are the links to the writers answers quoted above, thank you all for taking part.
Michele Thill
Kathryn A LeRoy Ph.D
Saloni Joshi
Manasi Diwaka
Dipti Pande
Yamin Ohmar
Chris Hedges
Keno Ogbo
Livia Dabs
Helen Boss
Henery X (Long)
Trista Ainsworth
Russell Weigandt
Amy Marley
Aurora Eliam CMP
Gurpreet Dhariwal
Keepingitrealwithannick
Joe Luca
Selma
Daniella Mini
Timothy Key
Terri Del Campo-Nelson
Besom & Bletherskite
MaryJo Wagner
