I was at dinner in West Village, NYC on Saturday 14th March when I got a text message from Ben saying “The PM has just announced all incoming passengers have to self isolate for 14 days from midnight tomorrow.”
I was not leaving NY until Monday…My first reaction, weirdly, was tears. I think I was just overwhelmed. There was so much going on in the world and I really didn’t quite understand what on earth was happening. But I had this moment of thinking of everything I thought I could not live with out. Not being able to go back to work, feeling like I’d let down my clients and my team, not being able to exercise when my main reason for exercise is my mental health, having to rely on others for food deliveries and the guilt attached to asking for favours. All total nonsense, but it was reality.. For my entire journey home.
Day one said to myself “Camilla, suck it up, and save a life”. I literally wrote those words down. By isolating, I was potentially saving a life by not risking community infection if I had of been carrying the Covid-19 virus.
Each day I started the morning with a mini meditation, wrote a list of “to-do’s”, and put some structure in to my days. After just a few days of iso, I began to find some routine, and was to my surprise doing ok with being locked away. We launched the online classes at Flow, I started my virtual PT sessions, and I began to feel more connected to members and clients than I ever had before which seems weird, right? But conversations had more meaning, there felt like there was a real WHY to communication I had, and I was not rushing from A-B and doing things in motion rather than being present.
I can’t say it has not come without some challenges because there definitely have been moments when the sun is shining, or I’ve missed human connection. But over all, it’s been an amazing experience. I read a quote the other day by Winston Churchill, “Never waster a good crisis”. Take advantage of the quiet time, the time with family, the more meaningful conversations, and the opportunity to have more of that ONE thing we so desperately wish we had more of…. TIME.
Situations in life we face may not always be something we can control, but how we perceive that situation…. That is something we CAN control .
Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay at home.
Camilla xxx