7 Things That Brought Me Peace During The Pandemic
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I don’t know how many of you hike, but if you do, you’ve likely experienced a trail or two or fifty on which you keep thinking you’ve reached the summit, only to reach the next crest and realize you aren’t even close. That’s where it feels like we are with the pandemic, doesn’t it? We’ve all learned coping mechanisms that we’ve shared along the way, and although the end of the pandemic does seem to be in our grasp, now might be the most important time to revisit those coping mechanisms and share them, because the world has changed, our lives have changed, and we all need to make sure we’re doing what we can to learn to ride the waves.
As someone who has gone through the pandemic far from any family, I want to highlight a few things I brought into my life in the last year that have not only helped me cope, but have helped me thrive. Of course it hasn’t all been rainbows, but I can say, as I touched on in my last two posts, I’ve experienced some truly transformative moments and I hope we can keep inspiring each other to reach new limits.
Revamping my bedroom: If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have a passion for interior design and my home is in a constant state of evolution. I’ve lived in this house for about two and a half years now and have done so much to make it my own, but I never really had a vision for my bedroom until early in the pandemic. If you’re recently out of a relationship as I was at the time, let me strongly suggest reclaiming your space as your own by making some aesthetic changes. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. For me, painting one wall in my bedroom black and finding a couple of meaningful accents totally changed the space and provided me with a much-needed mental reset. The handmade garland is from Deco Azul, and the handwoven macrame is from A Nomad’s Heart. Both creators have such beautiful souls, and I love supporting their businesses. You can even find Deco Azul’s curtain tiebacks on Amazon.
Cacao: One big thing I learned about myself during the pandemic which is sure to be an unpopular opinion–I don’t like coffee that much! I drank it because I loved the ritual aspect of it, and of course, for the energy. An Instagram friend of mine, @jill_pointer, introduced me to brewed cacao, and coffee doesn’t even compete. I even recently gave away my Nespresso maker. Brewed cacao has all the deliciousness you’d expect from a cup of hot chocolate (but with minimal calories) and provides smooth energy with none of the bitterness or acidity found in coffee. It has so many health benefits (including enhanced immunity). I love it with a dash of cinnamon and some monk fruit sweetener, but you can do so much with it. Crio Bru has been my go-to.
Planner: My planner was such a great tool that helped me continue to be productive over the last year. I’ve always been a fan of lists, and also of hand-writing, so I’m not sure why I didn’t start using a planner before 2020, but I’m so glad I finally did. I’ve tried a few different ones over the last year. There are so many out there, there truly is one for every type of person. A few weeks ago, I landed on the Monk Manual, and I’ve loved it. Not only does it help you plan out your day/week/month/year, but it takes a holistic approach and encourages growth. There’s space for reflections, gratitude, ways to improve, and other sections I find to be beneficial at much deeper levels than your everyday planner.
Yoga: I really struggled to stick to a routine in the early months of the pandemic. I don’t think I’m alone in this. One of the things I lost touch with, which is hard for me to even believe, let alone admit, is my regular exercise. Fitness has always been such a big part of my life, so to lose that really sent me off the rails. Yoga helped me find my way back. Before the pandemic, I attended yoga class maybe a handful of times, and I turned my nose up at it. I was always someone who thought fitness had to be something you went hard at, and it didn’t feel like a workout otherwise. As a result, I experienced “swings” where I’d overdo it for weeks, then fall off the wagon and spend weeks trying to getting back on track. Our bodies need balance. Therapy and Wim Hof helped me realize I needed more calm in my life, and that I also needed to really tune into myself, so I decided I would totally rebuild my approach to fitness. While going hard at the gym can be a great stress reliever, it can really break your body down, as I can attest after numerous injuries. I bought a yearly subscription to the Asana Rebel app which includes several different yoga classes to choose from which vary in length (and most are no more than 30 minutes). The practice coaxed me back into fitness, and the stretching movements were exactly what my body needed after years of overuse. I found myself wanting to do more each time, so I’d either do back-to-back yoga classes, or follow it up with a quick HIIT workout. Fitness is now a regular part of my routine again, and I have a much more holistic approach to it having learned to listen to my body. I also have to credit my yoga mat which I got from Scoria. I got the phases of the moon mat, which had a magical quality that really made me want to use it every day, and most importantly, the mats are sustainably made and a portion of my purchase went to providing meals for those in need. They’ve since shifted their giving to empowering “Indigenous youth through play-based education promoting healthy living and life skills” which is also a worthy cause!
Wim Hof Method: A co-worker and friend introduced me to this, and I was intrigued, but I didn’t really commit to it until my therapist suggested breathwork to cope with some anger issues I was facing in my life. Anger is such a scary word for me to write, and might have been shame-inducing for me a year ago (okay, there’s still a tiny bit of that—it’s a work in progress!), but it’s a natural feeling from which we can learn so much. For several months a year to two years ago, I was feeling more helpless than I’ve ever felt in my life. In fact, I’m not sure I ever knew what helplessness truly was until then. It mostly stemmed from my relationship at the time, but work exacerbated the issue. I still consider myself an amateur Wim Hoffer (I’m still working on those cold showers), but the breathwork alone has had such a positive effect on me spiritually, mentally, and I believe also physically. As a former avid Spartan Racer, Crossfitter, and someone who is still truly passionate about fitness, I was attracted to the physical benefits of the Wim Hof Method such as enhanced immunity and performance, but the mental/spiritual benefits have been most noticeable for me. My anger issues completely subsided (which was probably also a result of proper boundaries), my stress significantly lowered, and overall I became more excited about life, opportunity, and being true to myself. While I haven’t quite reached enlightenment, those few minutes each day have truly helped me get to know and love my deepest self. There are numerous resources if you Google it, but wimhofmethod.com is a great starting point, and I also found this article particularly interesting.
Therapy: I’m proud to say I returned to therapy early in the pandemic, and this time it stuck. I dabbled in this a couple of times in my life previously—once as I was on my way out of the Marines and another as I was struggling through my last relationship. I never really felt comfortable with it either time—partly because I was also battling with personal biases against it (mental health and self-love were never really priorities in my life before the last 2-3 years), and partly because neither therapist felt like a good match. This time, I tried betterhelp.com and first let me say I am not affiliated with them in any way, but I had such a good experience. Initially I wasn’t clicking with my therapist, but Better Help makes it clear they’re committed to finding the right therapist for you and I was easily able to switch. I was matched with Rebecca next, who was so easy-going and funny, and she helped me with some of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in my life. I could go on, and I probably will in another post! Something I realized about therapy is that you might not notice a massive change week to week, but when you look back after a month or more when you’ve really leaned into it, it’s truly eye-opening what you can accomplish.
Daily Devotional: At the start of 2020, I committed to a daily devotional for the first time in my life. This gave me so much stability and comfort throughout the year. In April, one of the devotionals centered around Psalm 25:4-5, which is,
“Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.”
This scripture became my daily prayer. This scripture helped me find my way back to myself, and interestingly, I stumbled upon a John Calvin quote in another book I’m reading which says: “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God.” I’m such a flawed Christian, but my commitment to daily time with God has helped bring me closer to Him again. My devotional for 2021 is “Unshakeable” by Christine Caine and it’s such a beautiful, relatable complement to any Bible study.
I don’t claim to have this all figured out by any means. I’m in the middle of selling my house, which is obviously stressful (add an HOA or two in there and it just about doubles), so revisiting these is so important for me, and I hope even just one thing will inspire you to try something new and find something that brings you a little joy and peace in this chaotic world. What are some things that helped you through the pandemic?
