Lockdown Rediscovery: 3 Things I Find Joy In Doing Now

We are now over a month into lockdown. We are living in a new world today in April of 2020. This is a situation I could have never imagined I would be living through. I have always looked at the positive in any situation and looked at what I could learn from it. This is the ultimate opportunity to learn about myself, about others and about this beautiful life that we all get to live on this planet.

Rediscovery of Lost Talent:

The first hidden discovery I have made during this time is my rediscovery of writing. This has brought me joy in so many amazing ways. In the past two years I have delved deep into writing about personal development, personal growth and spirituality as I have finally allowed myself to become who I truly am. I used to write maybe once a week or write three or four articles a month. Now during lockdown I write at least one article and sometimes start another the same day. I owe this rediscovery to my friend Melody Campbell who encouraged me to start writing daily and also invited me to write for the Illumination publication on medium. I also thank Dr Mehmet Yildiz for creating this amazingly brilliant platform for all of us to share our creations on. Every day I feel so honored to be able to write, to share my work and especially to read other writer’s work. In high school and college I used to write more often. Now finally I feel like I am rediscovering a talent, a true calling, a chance to share light with others. I feel very humbled in the presence of so many talented writers who have made it their career choice to write. I am here to learn every day from them. I learn how to be vulnerable, how to put myself out there, how to challenge myself, how to share, how to shine a light on others, how to be part of an amazing community. I find my heart and soul in writing and I am so thankful for the opportunity to do this daily now. Some days the inspiration flows easier than others, however I know that the words will come to me because I am amongst great writers who have a lot to teach me and I am excited to learn.

Rediscovery of Connecting with the Earth:

I grew up around nature and gardening. Every year my family would grow a huge vegetable garden, grow fruit in our orchard and we were surrounded by a large forest. We would see deer, rabbits, squirrels and all kinds of birds on a regular basis. I have always loved flower gardening and over the years made an effort to create an eclectic garden in our backyard by buying plants, growing plants from seed and also receiving gifts of plants from my aunt who loves to garden. However, there was a time in which I thought I needed to work very hard on my business and I didn’t work out in the garden very much. There were summers where lots of plants would die because I would be so focused and so busy that I wouldn’t take the time to water, fertilize and care for my plants on a regular basis. I wasn’t connecting with a part of me that I love, that part of me that loves nature, loves to go outside and loves to be with the flowers. This spring and the lockdown has created a reawakening in my soul. A new opportunity to care for nature. Now I am out in my garden every single day. Every day I water and fertilize my plants. Every day I do some weeding. Every day I take walks in the garden, encourage my plants by talking to them and marvel at the beauty all around me. I feel so, so fortunate to have a garden. It nurtures me and my family. It gives us a place to be. It gives us an opportunity to appreciate the beauty around us and to be grateful for earth. This has created a beautiful habit of going outside to commune with nature, to find beauty in every leaf, in every bloom, in every bud. Thank you to the earth for creating this daily ritual and daily opportunity to appreciate the abundance we have been given. I look forward to growing this beautiful garden every day this spring and summer. The earth and this lockdown have taught me not only to slow down, but to focus. I focus on my writing and my work in the mornings so that I can spend the afternoons in the garden.

Rediscovery of Calligraphy:

Another lost art that I recuperated this year has been calligraphy. I took one course on calligraphy in college. I absolutely loved it and it was an art that I took to quite easily. For a long time after the course I practiced my calligraphy, trying new techniques and having fun sharing my work with my friends. Then, for a long period of time I let go of this craft. I let go of all kinds of creative things that I used to do. I focused on keeping my home, my family and my businesses for such a long time. Just this year I cleared out my craft cabinet. I decided to give away any supplies for crafts I didn’t really enjoy doing. I was left with just my calligraphy supplies. I am so grateful that I decided to explore calligraphy again. I find it so relaxing and I can get really creative with it. It also allows me to create personalized cards that I can send to people at this time to stay in touch with them and let them know they are special. Lately I have been waiting for a rainy day to get back to doing my calligraphy because right now that it’s sunny I love being outside so much in my free time. That rainy day will be coming soon, and I will enjoy the beautiful craft and art of calligraphy that I can share with others. This is such a joy. It is pure joy to connect with an art form, a form of expression. I truly believe that all of us are creative in different ways and I love to see people express their creativity.

In a strange way I am grateful to the lockdown for allowing me to rediscover these three joys in my life! I am now able to incorporate them into my life on a regular basis and I am creating new worlds for myself that I can share with others in powerful ways. This is such a beautiful thing.

I plan on continuing with these three joys in life even when lockdown is over. I am so overjoyed by these opportunities. All three of these activities have actually gotten me to slow down more. I am now on a different, less hurried schedule. I don’t waste as much time on things that aren’t meaningful to me. I love this so very much! It makes my heart happy.

What things have you rediscovered because of the lockdown?

With lots of love and light,

Trista

I challenge my fellow writers: Kevin Buddaeus, KeepingItRealWithAnnick, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Kira Dawn, Aurora Eliam, CMP, Michele Thill, Terry Mansfield to write about three things that they have rediscovered during lockdown. I look forward to hearing about your journey!

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