As I was working on what to write about for this post, I came across this question – “Where were you when the government implemented the lockdown last 2020?” I realized that March 15 was the anniversary of that fateful day that changed the landscape of the country. I vividly remember arriving in Manila from Butuan on March 14, just a couple of hours before Manila was to be locked down. I was in the middle of a personal travel on east side of Mindanao when the lockdown was announced by FPRRD. I remember the mad rush to book a return flight, planning on what I can still salvage from the trip, the crowd at the airport, the confusion when the lockdown took effect, and the eerie silence of the city that came after.
I was locked down in Metro Manila for 8 months. It was a decision that I had to take for my manang and the team that I was working with. I had to set aside my personal agenda over my responsibility at work and at my QC home. It was the longest time that I did not see my family and I did not expect that the “isolation” would take months. In fact, I was so positive that the lockdown would only last for a couple of weeks. I was wrong.
I scrolled on the responses to the question and I was not surprised by some of the answers. They referred to that time as a dark and depressing time for them because of the “isolation”. I mean getting locked in alone in the cold-hearted metro was not appealing. The few days may have been initially fun and interesting but, once the monotony of being alone in a confined space doing the same thing everyday, things will definitely get depressing.
These responses had me thinking on how I survived the lockdown. Honestly, I did not find the whole experience depressing. It was frustrating, since I am used to having an active lifestyle, but I don’t remember feeling depressed at the time. I look back to the whole episode without regret but with a lot of lessons and understanding on adaptability.
>>> It was all about mindset.
I think the baseline that made the lockdown experience manageable for me was I chose to work on the right mindset. I chose to understand the situation and why it was needed rather than focusing on complaining on what have you. I chose to understand the role that I had to take and the responsibility that I had to play in the bigger picture to my family, to the people I work with, to my country, and to the world. Making the decision to understand paved the way for my mind to accept the adjustments that I had to take at that time.
Having an active lifestyle that kept me out of the house most of the time, this was my biggest hit during the lockdown. Initially, I was okay with the downtime at home. It also helped that I was busy with work, initially. But as the weeks wore on, the confines were starting to suffocate me. I guess my Emotional Quotient is quite balanced that I found myself looking for things to keep me pre-occupied. I started to de-clutter my room, worked on recipes, read books, and worked on my blog. I worked on what I can control and, that meant, working on things that kept my mind and body busy. The right mindset helped me accept what I cannot control, and work on what I can control. What your mind conceives, your body will achieve.
>>> Appreciate. Don’t Depreciate.
The lockdown paved the way for me to discover and explore new things. I worked and gained my confidence in creating travel video contents that complemented my travel blogs. Thanks to the lockdown that I was able to broaden my platform from words to video contents. I was able to improve on my travel story telling and helped me worked on my skills that helped me transition to new social media apps in the market. It also broadened my target market.
Downtimes should be seen as an opportunity to look for ways to improve yourself in terms of skills. It is a good time to refresh or to learn a new skill that would be beneficial to your growth, be it personally or professionally. I saw this trend during the lockdown where people started working on their skills with some making an earning from it. These situations should be an opportunity to appreciate your value so take the initiative to learn something new or refresh what you already know since you have that extra time to do it. Don’t waste time by focusing on the what ifs. Use it to appreciate, not depreciate.
>>> Be At The Moment
Prior to the pandemic, much of our lives were in a rush. We wake up with a lot of things to do running in our minds – meetings, deadlines, and the like. We go through the day in a mad rush to accomplish what is on our checklist that we miss out on fun and enjoyment on the simple things in life – great conversations over lunch, the feel of the sun on our skin, the screams and laughters of our kids, etc. Most of the time, we miss out on the “small” moments that give us the biggest smile.
The lockdown taught me to slowdown and enjoy the simple things. It taught me to stop and just be in the moment. The situation forced me to enjoy a cup of coffee while enjoying the warm rays of the sun when, previously, I would usually just gulp down my coffee as I rush to work. It taught me to just breathe in the moment when it happens or when I feel like it. I actually noticed that, during my recent travels, I consciously remind myself to stop and just enjoy the moment. It was no longer just visiting a destination or stuffing up the itinerary. I want to enjoy the moment that I am there and just enjoying what I see, hear, breathe, and feel. I seriously think that this is where most of us fail – being in that moment and that is when we fail to experience the best things in life.
>>> Disconnect and Enjoy the Outdoors
I have been an avid advocate of local travel. I was in a middle of a personal trip when the lockdown was announced and it did not help that it all happened at a time where I should be enjoying the hot summer getting lost in the Philippines. Well, I had a simple solution back then. I brought the beach vibe at home. I brought out my hammock and installed it at our small yard. I usually took my afternoon naps or read a book under the shade of the trees while feeling the heat and the breeze. It was not my usual summer but I made my summer a different one.
What’s missing with most of us right now, especially with the kids nowadays, is enjoying the outdoors. We spend a lot of our times online that we don’t get the benefits of the feel of the warmth of the sun or the breeze on our skin. Our links to the e-world have long confined us inside our homes that we miss out on the benefits of nature’s perk me uppers. Go ahead, disconnect, and enjoy the outdoors by yourself, with friends, and with your family. You won’t be missing out on anything but gain more from nature’s bounty.
>>> Help when you can.
One of things that was reinforced on me by the lockdown was helping others in any way that I can. This came in through my responsibilities at work and supporting “lockdown” entrepreneurs. Patronizing local products was my own little act of helping others during those tough times. Everyone was trying to make both ends meet and I did help in small ways. These acts, no matter how small, were lifelines to others.
Helping in my own little way was and is a personal lifestyle. I always believed that it is in giving that we become more blessed. You lose nothing by being kind. The lockdown reinforced this mindset in me that we learn to appreciate what is given if we also know how to give. We should all live a life of abundance by learning how to help in whatever way that we can, when we can.
I cannot believe that it has already been three years since the lockdown happened. Everything was uncertain during that time. We were not sure how long it was going to be and how we were going to move forward and yet we managed to pull through. I managed to learn and re-learn a lot during that time. I took action on a lot of things that made the whole experience bearable. It was not the greatest experience but it was definitely a learning curve for everyone where we got to understand ourselves better. Like what they say, tough times don’t last, tough people do.
adobongpinoy 