This post took a while to write; the main reason being I felt uncomfortable speaking about positives in regards to a Pandemic that has had varying degrees of adverse, altering effects on our lives. I did not want to be insensitive to that. From personal experience and those of loved ones, I know how profound those changes have been. For one, the income I earn from my airline industry job has decreased drastically during these past few months, which is still nowhere close to the challenges other people have had. What helped me feel at ease with completing this post was acknowledging that amidst the unfavourable changes, has arisen the opportunity to press pause, reevaluate what's important and re-map what we may want our lives to entail after the dust settles.
Taking Things Slowly
When I'm at home in the Caribbean, on the African continent or elsewhere I slow down. The cultures in these places seem to make it easier do so. When I'm in the U.S., it's a different story. I often find myself rushing. Most of this is related to my job, in which I'm constantly being pressured to move quickly. Unfortunately, this habit has seeped into other areas of my life. Over the past few months my work schedule has decreased and I have been enjoying moving at at a more leisurely pace.
Enjoying More Locally
It's not so much that I took local things for granted. It's more that I took being able to do them for granted. That's particularly true when it comes to the city of Atlanta, the place I consider my second home. Even though for several years now I have been re-shifting my focus to life in my native Caribbean, I still am an Atlanta resident. I don't act like it however. Back in the days I soaked up the cool things Atlanta had to offer but recently I became very reclusive - seldom partaking in the city's fun. I stopped visiting my favourite small bookstores, finding new food spots and traipsing around local Spring-Summer festivals. As a result of continuously travelling for work or being in T&T, whenever I was in Atlanta I wasn't too keen on leaving my house unless absolutely necessary. Now that it isn't safe to roam the town, I have regained my enthusiasm to do so. Once we can move around unencumbered again, I intend to make better use of local treasures.
Connecting With Community
Even though I am relishing the guilt-free solitude that quarantine affords, I do miss spending time with my loved ones as well as networking with fellow creatives. Not being able to do these as much has helped me appreciate them more. I look forward to once again engaging with people who uplift and inspire me. Two of the first things I will do once this pandemic has subsided will be to hold a big bash at my place to celebrate and visit my folks. Next on the list will be spending time meeting and collaborating with peers.
Maintaining Multiple Streams Of Income
I have spent a large portion of my adult life working to make large companies wealthier, and being solely dependent on that employment for income. A while ago, I started not feeling alright with this and began considering steps to create multiple streams of income. The financial fall out from the Pandemic has increased my sense of urgency to consistently have several sources of revenue. Financially speaking, I believe it is a good idea to have eggs in various baskets. It just seems less risky than relying on one job for money.
Investing & Saving.
This point goes hand in hand with the previous one. Two key elements of financial security are saving and investing. For years my mum preached the importance of saving to me and adulthood has driven that importance home. For starters, there are unexpected expenses tied to owning a house or vehicle and those tied to health care. Plus, there can be an unexpected loss of employment. Any of these necessitate having an emergency fund but I have come to believe it is also important to invest my money so that it grows and works hard for me as opposed to it just sitting idly.
Executing My Dreams
Both the loss of human life and the collapse of job security have been poignant reminders that we really should seize every chance to execute our dreams. In the past I allowed unhealthy habits such as overanalyzing and procrastination to prevent me from fulfilling my potential. This has to stop. I want to exit life knowing that I did all I could in pursuing my heart's desires.
Exercising Faith & Practising Surrender
Ultimately, we simply do not have control over everything nor do we know everything. We can work hard, plan carefully and do all the right things (whatever those are) but we can not prevent or predict certain things. I think it's healthy for us to recognise when we need to detach from trying to figure things out and when we would do well to turn our concerns over to a Higher Power. It never ceases to amaze me how things come together perfectly when I exercise faith and practise surrender.
Living Life To The Fullest
In addition to being more diligent with my professional goals, I want to make the most of life in general. All we ever really have is the present moment. Knowing this I want to focus more on what's important. Each day minute is a precious gift and I vow to honour that. So there will be more random acts of kindness; get-togethers; (healthy)risk taking; little and big adventures.
Photography Credit: Joel John
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