From citizen of the WORLD to citizen of my HOME: dealing with an unexpcted journey called Covid19

Up to few weeks ago, I was 100% sure that my next post on this blog would've been about my last trip to the San Blas Islands, a dream come true place for me, made of 365 atolls in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Colombia, where you can "only" find sailing boats, palm trees, sand, sun, fresh fish, few locals - the lovely Kuna tribe - and quite interesting people who have been lucky enough to actually manage to reach this very secluded part of the world. The San Blas Islands were a place that I wanted to visit for so long, years actually. And for a reason or another I always postponed this trip, assuming that I could go there whenever I'd feel like, like any other part of the world, after all. I have always considered my world like a clew, so small and ready to be unrolled for me at any time I'd wish so. And so it's been, so far. Last December, indeed, time came for me to finally fly to my dream destination! And what a trip it was, for sure reality exceeded expectations and, today, I couldn't be happier to have been there, especially considering the fact that the San Blas Islands were among the first places in Central America and South America to close their borders, and sea, due to the Covid19 pandemic. After a bit over a month since I came back, it was not possible to go there anymore. And today, April 7th, 2020, the world is completely closed on itself, in lockdown, as they say, each flat and each family like a small island, apart from each other, just like the San Blas atolls. We went from being citizens of the world to being citizens of our apartments, and it seems that my clew won't unroll for quite a while and that my island will stay empty for some time too, without friends and family coming and going from it, bringing along with them their smiles, their kisses, their hugs, their stories, which today I miss more than ever.

Now let me take a step forward and from Panama let's jump to Naples, my hometown, in the South of Italy, where I am at the moment and where I have been quarantined for the past month. Yes, exactly today, it is one full month of confinement alone in my apartment, without going out at all, if not a couple of times to buy groceries and withdraw some money, once I discovered that I could get my food delivered at my balcony - yes, they literally pass the bags thru the balcony as I live on the first floor - without needing to go out and expose myself to this virus, which has hit Italy very badly, as you might all well know by now. This month of isolation deserves celebration, that's why I decided to write this post about it, to keep a vivid memory of what's going on in our lives right now. For people who know me well and, at times, for myself as well, it is incredible to believe that I am actually having a great period in this isolation mood. I have always been a super active person, I've always done lots of things and activities, my agenda being rarely empty. I am a traveler, a social animal, I am a present friend, the one who will always organize or propose something, who's always up to do stuff, try new things, meet new people, go out in the nature and discover new places. The one that gathers people together. Despite this side of myself and, I must say, thankfully, I am also the kind of person who appreciates and seeks isolation, I have always loved having my own place, my silences, my tempo, my rituals and my routines. Through a deep work done on myself, I learned how to feel good with myself and by myself, how to make myself happy, and this is what is saving me right now. I am alone but not lonely, as I still have myself. If you don't know how to be alone, don't worry! Chances are that you will learn now, if you live on your own in this time of confinement. Another thing that could help you is, of course, having a positive outlook at life in general, including this situation. The so called "positive attitude" doesn't come naturally to everyone, however we can all work on it and succeed. The same situation can be different for each single person, depending on the perspective we look at it. I am sure that if you look deeply, you will find a lot of positive aspects of this very unique moment we are experiencing. Regardless the causes which brought all of us where we are today, I would say that complete isolation can be considered beneficial, therapeutic even, and I would voluntarily undergo to this process at least a couple of times per year, just like fasting. If we think about it, there are people who go to monasteries in Tibet to find isolation, people who enroll to specific retreats to find silence and now we can have it all, without traveling so far and with much less effort.

So, what have I learned and realized in this month of isolation, all by myself?

A friend of mine asked me this question only few days after the lockdown in Italy had started and the first thing that came to my mind was that we are all equal. For the first time since I have awareness, it felt like all around the globe we were all on the same boat, all at the same level, rich and poor, black and white, famous and common, confronted to the same big problem at the very same time, no one immune. Of course, better to be in quarantine in a big villa with a swimming pool than in a 50 square meters apartment, but that's another chapter and I do not wish to open it. However, nothing has united, globalized and yet isolated and separated the world as much as this freaking virus. As of a certain moment up to now, all media have been speaking about the same sad things, the images, the stories, the testimonials, the countries main issues and responses, the conversations with friends - we have all stopped wandering what shall we do over the weekend, as we already got the answer: home, in quarantine! - the Facebook posts and the Instagram pics, the jokes, the polemics, the paranoia, the speculations, the slogans, the hypothesis, the faults, the generosity of people, the new heroes, the smart-working, the solidarity, the tears, the fears, it's all been like a big echo, resonating from one side of the world to the other, leaving us all puzzled and realizing that we think we have control on our lives, but we actually don't. I find this realization pretty much amazing, even more now, when this should be crystal clear to each one of us, little, weak human beings. Anything can change in a day, lives can go upside down overnight, and this should be the very right moment to learn and start living in the present, in the now, surrender to whatever it's due to come to you, rather than feeling sorry for what has been and anxious for what may come, or may not. Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life!

Another thing that I've never appreciated as much as in this moment is being single! To be honest with you, right now, I can't imagine sharing my apartment 24/7 with someone else, let alone with kids included, and even for the most consolidated families and partnerships this must be a real challenge. During this period, I have developed my way of being and flowing even more and I think it would be very difficult to fit someone else in there, especially when you live in a regular shared apartment, I repeat 24/7. I listen to my favorite music in different moments of the day, depending on whether I am having breakfast, working-out, meditating, taking a hot bath or yoga practicing. I light-up incense and palosanto often. I dance all alone with trash music on and love it! Some mornings I wake up very early and start with yoga and meditation to then have breakfast, other days I wake up a bit later, have a huge breakfast on my sunny balcony and start working straight away - yes, I am lucky, I still have my job which keeps me busy - thanks God - including the funny video-calls I have with my colleagues, where we wear weird hats or sunglasses that are destroying my reputation as Recruiter on LinkedIn ;-) Working-out will be left for the afternoon, in this case. Sometimes I take 2 hours long hot bubbly bath, watching my favorite episodes or listening to music. Others I take a nap. I have long (video) calls with friends and family almost on a daily basis, mostly spontaneously, and I don't have to worry about anyone feeling excluded or listening to me while I do so. And I can dedicate all the time in the world to people who care for me, as I do for them, and doing so we can support each other. Some evenings I read, others I just watch some stuff on the net. Sometimes I sit on my balcony sunbathing, other times I decide to work from my balcony, or inside, or from the living-room, or from the kitchen, depending mostly on the sunlight. I eat whatever and whenever I want - I actually realized that if I have the time, I do love cooking yummy things for myself - sometimes in the evening I fast. I didn't touch one drop of alcohol in the past month and I couldn't be happier, no big sacrifice there. I try to keep regular hours, meaning that I go to bed pretty early and wake up early too. I heard about friends going to sleep at 4am and waking up at 12pm. I think this is totally disruptive for the entire system and will be hard to get back to normal, when we'll all have to. Sometimes I take online courses, I even participated to an online yoga retreat for 2 weekends in a row, which kept me busy almost all day every day of the weekend, between seminars and practices. I still have my yoga courses on Thursday evening with my lovely teacher, who immediately switched to the online mood, and on Sunday afternoon there are always conferences with the Master of my yoga school and we speak about so many different subjects, usually for a couple of hours. It is enlightening and also time consuming. Even by being at home, my agenda is rarely empty and I decided indeed not to subscribe to Netflix, as I don't have the time! And I do not have a TV either! Now - unless I'd have a clone of myself instead of a boyfriend - I don't think I would be able to work as much on myself, without judgments on what I do or don't do all day long, and with all this freedom to decide purely based on my mood, if I had someone else at home to take into account. On top of this, some friends have issues with their partner going to work every day, they are so afraid that the virus could be brought at home, that they find themselves cleaning all the time after their loved one and sleeping in separate beds, split families under the same roof. I mean, what's the advantage of having a boyfriend if you can't even sleep together?!! And, actually, someone I know got the virus from her boyfriend, who is a doctor, and now she's hospitalized, right as I write this post. So, yes, this shit happens for real! All this to tell you that being single during quarantine has been a blast so far and it should be a way for all of us to find ourselves, learn to be good in our own company, identify what we please and make ourselves happy. Of course, after quarantine, applications for the best boyfriend of the world will be open again! ;-) Remember: think positive and if life gives you lemons, make a scrumptious lemonade out of it!

#MOOD: ONLY BORING PEOPLE ARE BORED!! 

Overall, I like to consider this emergency as a cleansing opportunity, both on the micro and macro level. On the micro level, it is a clearing opportunity for each individual, as we are no more exposed, on a daily basis, to so many people, from those we meet in public transports, or at the gym, or at the office, to friends, customers, random people we meet throughout the day etc...By being isolated, we not only clear our physical area of energy, which is influenced by other's people energies too, whether we like it or not, and whether we are aware of it or not, but we also clear our thoughts, which don't get influenced by other's people opinions, behaviors, comments or projections. This process, of course, happens when we are good enough in managing our use, often over-use, of social-media and instant-communication tools, keeping space for our silences. Also, in this moment, we can clear our minds from all secondary thoughts, all worries, wishes, preoccupations, aspirations, hopes that now we realize were so irrelevant. Let's keep space in our minds only for what really counts in life, and let's clear out what's not necessary anymore, including toxic people. Let's look instead for calmness, stillness, balance and peace and let's maintain in our lives only people that make us feel good and that we make feel good too. On the macro level, it is under everybody's eyes the fact that the planet is finally breathing and thanking us for not abusing it anymore. No more road traffic, air traffic, no more forests burning, no more humans destroying natural treasures with their wrong actions, no more factories polluting the sky and the soil with their massive productions. Waters and air are now cleaner, new species of plants and flowers are seeing the light and animals have finally returned to where they belong. Let's hope it will stay this way also once all this will be over, because soon it will be over. Another factor I was thinking about, and I am sure many of you too, is that this planet is clearly overpopulated. Now, it can seem a bit harsh what I'm about to say, but all these deaths are contributing to the macro cleansing on the world. Of course, I deeply respect all the losses that there have been and I am so, so sorry for the families of all the victims and, of course, for the victims too, who mostly died alone and totally conscious of what was happening. Maybe, though, it was their time, and maybe this is all part of a bigger project we have no grasp on. I just hope my family, friends, colleagues and all people I know, including myself :-) will stay safe and in good health for many, many more years to come. 

I have always practiced gratitude. Up to 2 years ago, I had my "thankful thoughts" jar. It was an actual jar where every week I used to put a note with the things I was grateful for and, at the end of the year, I would open it and read all the beautiful stuff which had happened to me throughout the year. It could also be little things, like a sunset, a plate of good pasta or a sunny day. Since a bit more than a year now, I started meditating almost every day and this totally changed my life. At the beginning of each meditation, I practice gratitude, for whatever big or small thing may have happened to me that day, and I truly do feel grateful, this is the most important thing, not only thinking it but also feeling it.

In this period, I have felt even more grateful. First of all, I am grateful for my health, and for the health of my family and friends. Thanks God, we are all good and kicking, each one of us coping with the situation in the best way possible. I am grateful for my house, which protects me and where I spend a good time. My house is like a sweet cuddle, and I am so happy to live here, between these colorful walls. I am grateful for my job, which leaves me freedom and which I always do with passion. I am grateful because I have good food to eat every day. For the sun shining every morning on my ghost city. I am grateful for my family, who's always close to me. I am grateful for my friends, close and far away. I have been contacted by so many people, and actually this was the occasion to have long conversations with people I hadn't spoken to in a while. People keep on checking-up on me, from all corners of the world, and I can't wait to visit them all when this will be over. And, of course, you're welcome in Italy too! I feel very much loved in this moment. I am grateful for all the beautiful places that I have seen so far, and whenever I want to go back there I just close my eyes and visualize them, the smells, how they made me feel, the views, the tastes, the people. Visualizing can also help us in overcoming this moment of isolation, at least it works with me. Another thing I've never been more grateful for is being Italian! I have never felt more connected to my country than now, never was any prouder. And I also discovered that people love Italy and, as Italians, we feel it strongly. We thank everyone who's prayed for our country and shared the good moments they've spent in Italy with the world. I have so many more things to be grateful for, including the faith that everything will be alright, and I am sure that you have lots of things to be grateful for too! Just pay attention to them, even little things. We were happy and we didn't realize it. We were free and we didn't know it. Let's keep this in mind and look at what we have, rather than thinking about what we are missing.

Tips for an ass-kicking quarantine ;-)

• Have a regular schedule, meaning don't go to bed too late and don't wake up too late either;
• Try to have diversified days, even if you are at home. What helps me there is to have a written schedule. I write down all the activities I want to do in a day on a weekly basis. As soon as I see something interesting which is happening on-line and I want to be part of it I subscribe and note it down in my agenda, otherwise we risk to get lost with all the things going on on-line right now; 
• Drink enough water, cook/eat well and exercise as much as you can, this will help you to stay healthy, to spend a good time and to keep up the mood;
• If you have a balcony or a garden or even a window, enjoy the sun as much as you can, that's good for your vitamin D and mood;
• Don't overuse social-media and don't be always in front of your phone reading stuff about Covid19. I stopped doing that after few days from the lockdown. In any cases, I'm home so I don't really care. I am just patiently waiting for the moment I'll be able to go out again. In Italy the lockdown is that serious;
• Don't get caught-up in polemics or opinions that you see on-line, nor try to change other people's points of view, for as stupid as you think they are. Disregard what you read and move on; 
• Put on your favorite music and DANCE!; 
• Stay close to family and friends and call them whenever you feel like. Try also to make yourself available whenever they need you too;
• Unlock your potential, get creative and look for ideas for when all this will be over, now we have got time to think, let's use it wisely! If you know how to do something really well, maybe put this at the service of others and raise some money for a cause you care about;
• Be grateful and think positive, this will be just another experience that we will add to our lives, for as ugly as it has been. We have also a lot to learn from it!

Disclaimer:

Of course, my mood is so bright as I am assuming that all this will be over soon and that this summer I will be able to swim in my beloved Italian sea and sunbath on my beloved Italian beaches. I will be able to hug and kiss my family and friends and go out wherever and whenever I feel like. Also, all my dear ones will be in great shape and health. If this shouldn't be the case, well, let's see how my mood will be.

Interesting links:

- Museums that you can visit online:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/75809/12-world-class-museums-you-can-visit-online

- Cirque du Soleil online:

https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/cirqueconnect

- Online classes about different subjects:

https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/ivy-league-free-online-courses-a0d7ae675869/

- Yoga with Kassandra – she’s super good:

https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithkassandra

- 20 Days of Live Meditation with Jay Shetty – quite nice if you’re new to meditation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxURcDSeRns

Much love and stay safe!

Gaia