Hello, my friend! I hear ya! Human connection is a bit tricky these days. However, during times of crisis, fear and struggle is when we need each other the most! It's easy to become worried, depressed and withdrawn when things are uncertain. Here are ten ways you can make sure that doesn't happen to you or your loved ones.
10 Ways to Lift your Spirits and Nurture Relationships During Coronavirus Precautions:
1. 📱☎️📞 Scroll through your phone list and call 1-2 people a day that you haven't spoken to in a while. You are sure to brighten their day and any time you add love to someone else's life, you always add it to your own.
2. 🌤️🌻🐿️ Take a walk with your family. Being in nature is a great way to lift your spirits. Sunshine, fresh air and animals scurrying around will give you all something sweet to focus on.
3. 📚📖 Read. Escape to someone else's fictional world or learn something new along with your family. Our kids developed a love for reading because my husband would read Harry Potter aloud to them and intentionally stop at a good part leaving them hanging :)
4. 👩🌾🌽🍓Plant a garden together. Planting a garden gets you outside AND provides food for your family. Limiting trips to the grocery store in the coming months will help reduce exposure to illness and caring for a garden is sure to keep your family busy focusing on something fruitful.
5. 🖥️ 👨👨👧👧Hop on a Facebook group with people sharing your interests. Usually, I favor in-person connection, but when that's not advised, connection is the important thing. Many positive relationships are built in online communities. You can offer support and share your knowledge with people. See #1 about how it feels to add joy to someone else's day.
6. ♟️🎲♣️Have a family game night. I can't say enough what this has added to our lives. I literally couldn't wait for my kids to be old enough to play Candyland! Now, they are 14 and 17 and we still play family games once a week (and they look forward to it!). You'll be happy to know they've graduated to Boggle, Catan, Monopoly and...dare I say...Pandemic :/
7. 🧹🧴👊 Work on a big project in your home together. This could be a whole separate list in our house! Clean up that corner of the yard, clean out that room or space in your house, organize your emergency supplies, clear out and donate clothing, dishes you aren't using, etc. I'm quite certain your kids won't love this idea at first, but they will share in the satisfaction of a job well done.
8. 🎥📸Watch family movies or organize scrapbooks/photos. Sharing family memories or stories from your childhood is special to your children. You could learn something about your partner, too. We all have a story to tell!
9. 🙏☦️⛪ Pray and/or read the Bible together. Most of us haven't actually read the entire Bible. This time of fear and the practical need to reduce large gatherings happens to coincide with Lent, which is a time Christians reflect on their spirituality, pray more, fast from certain foods and share acts of kindness. Scripture is the perfect place to find inspiration.
10. 💻👩💻Use technology to connect face to face. There are many modalities for connecting face to face online. Video-chatting is fun and practical! You can take classes, talk to grandparents, conduct meetings and more online.
Don't be afraid to be creative in order to maintain your relationships. It's the MOST important thing at this time. Reach out to others in any way you can. Use this time of canceled activities and (if you happen to be someone on quarantine) more time at home in the most positive ways you can. We are Americans and one thing we are EXCELLENT at is rising to the occasion in a crisis.
Wishing you many blessings 🙏and good health🏥,
Ginny ☺️
