Cue Dramatic pause... This Pandemic has propelled the whole world to a screeching halt. We are living in the greatest time of uncertainty. Many have lost their jobs, homes and everything they have ever worked for. Along with this came despair, anxiety and depression. It has been one of the most trying times for everyone. Our world as we know it has been turned upside down.
For those with partners and families, it has been a turn for the better, getting to spend valuable time at home with their loved ones. For the homebodies, it has been absolute bliss working online from the comfort of their own homes. Sadly for those without anyone, it has been a very lonely time, slowly plummeting into their deep thoughts and heading towards a dark depression.
For a lot of people this has also added somewhat value to their lives. Being able to spend this time with their loved ones and fur babies, has made a lot of people realise that living is more than just work and the grind. Its so much more than fancy cars, big houses and name brand clothes. When we see how little that all means, the stuff, when we are stuck at home and nobody gets to see anything of material value, we have to wonder what those things really mean to us? It has given people time to reflect on who they have become, and who they have in their lives to share that with.
Some have learned that spending time at home and resting, looking after their health and taking time to work on themselves is also just as important. We as humans are taught to constantly be moving; work, exercise, run after the kids, clean, hike, braai, drinks and repeat. We rush everything, our lives, what we can fit into our weekend and holidays. We never allow ourselves time to just breath and see if we are even still moving in the direction our heart wants us to go. This time has really made people think about the bigger picture. Nothing is ever set in stone.
It has also been good for people who were too afraid to follow their dreams because they were terrified to take the leap and leave their comfort zones. With people losing their jobs, and companies and whole industries closing down, people have been forced to adapt and become creative. A whole wave of new businesses are going to start coming forward, and the spread of wealth is going to take a huge shift. People are learning to JUMP and head in the direction of their biggest dreams. To take the leap because they realise they no longer have anything to lose. It has possibly been the restart button the world really needs.
But what is it like to be a nomad or a yachtie in these times? Our sole purpose in life is to not live in one place, to challenge societal norms, to not follow protocol we do not understand or agree with, and to leave when we no longer feel like we can learn and grow from a place. It is written in our DNA to not be locked down. To not trap ourselves into one space, one ideal. This lockdown has brought to light our every fear. If we don't like something, we don't lie victim to it, we leave for greener pastures and new lessons. Everything this lockdown represents is every bit of prison we have been terrified of.
To be like this, we always come across as these happy go lucky, extroverted beings who love to adapt when our environment changes. So how can such a huge shift in the world affect us that much? We live like this. We are prepared right? As time goes by, I have noticed the same recurring mental patterns with all of my fellow yachties and travelers. The underlying problems lie wherein we all decided to leave, to move, to grow, to change. Every single day. We don't stay in one place because we feel trapped in an ever closing world around us. A lot of people may have even moved to get away from what they feared most. Most have no homes, or partners or fur babies to keep them sane in this time because of how we live. So most of us are left alone, with very few friends left, because we are never home. We hide behind our brave faces and use travel as our therapy to heal the wounds we have. Cue lockdown, and our every fear and nightmare has become our reality. Alas, this time, we can't change or even have a choice in our fate, because we are trapped by our country's border shutdowns. Something that is beyond our control. Even with the correct paper work, the embassies refuse to process work visas. Our livelihoods ripped away with no explanation.
The more I speak to people, the more I see the huge mental effect and shift, it has taken on us. We now need to adapt to our new lifestyle changes, and adapt to losing our livelihoods. Most of us haven't worked since the end of last season, and are aware that our season will end before we can go back. We know that we cant earn a living for a further 6 months after that. All our savings that we have worked so hard for and given so much of our lives up for, are depleting at a rapid speed. Anxiety and depression has reached an all time high. A lot of us who have never fought our demons and have buried ourselves in our work and our constant life changes, are now forced to be alone, think and reflect on ourselves, to add to the chaos in our heads.
I really wanted to write this blog so that you guys can all see that you are not alone. You are not crazy. You are feeling the way you feel because it has been a huge shift in every part of your life. You are not only dealing with one overwhelming problem at a time, but everything has been thrown at you at once. Is it overwhelming, YES, but you are strong and adaptive and this will get easier. Surround yourself with positive people and places. Adventure where you can so your soul feels fulfilled. Love hard. Have emotional days. Cry. Scream. Laugh. Speak about how you are feeling. You are not alone. There has been a shift in consciousness and you are on a new path to learning about who you are and what you really want your life to be like. This wont last forever. Use this time to reflect and grow and see who you really are. Find new friends. Let go of the ones who no longer add value to your life. We are all in the same boat. Adapt and accept that it is okay to feel how you are feeling!
We used to say "Catch Flights not Feelings". The irony now lies that there are no flights so we need to catch the feels. Use this time wisely to listen to your inner self and learn what you can, grow how you can and change what you have been afraid to work on. See this as a gift. We may never get the chance to reflect like this again. There is no reflection like a forced reflection.
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