What could be the gifts of quarantine?

I woke up early the other day, well, I've been waking up early for awhile now so I get up and write. Here's what I wrote on 4/13/20, as we are all on pause, and taking greater time out- 
What could the gifts of this downtime be? 
-stretching and doing yoga in the morning with my husband with no hurry to get out the door
-more time to meditate and deepen my spiritual practice and study time
-really slowing down to enjoy the miracle of spring, watching all the birds sitting in the trees as they are blooming and flowering each day
-having more time in nature, to garden, and watch the plants grow and nurture them
-taking more walks with my husband and enjoying all the spring flowers and trees and taking pictures of them
-having long talks with my husband about what really matters in life and for us, feeling closer to him than ever before
-writing poetry, journaling, reading, listening to podcasts  
-being more relaxed about producing results
-not having to put on makeup or get dressed up each day for work
-being able to help coach others through this time on zoom, Face-time, etc...
-catching up with friends/family on zoom, and Facebook messenger 
​-Cooking soups, trying new recipes, having more time to cook together and slow down to eat lunch outside together, when it's nice out 
-greater self-care time, baths, cups of hot tea, facials, just resting and unraveling from all the years of pushing myself
I hope this inspires you towards more downtime, time for your self-care and dropping any expectations of what you should be doing, and just undo and relax more, listen to your inner voice, you are wise. You have all the answers for you. Just stop, breathe, and listen. Let yourself feel whatever is going on and give it time to be released, then later there will be a space for something new or maybe an action step or not. This time does not have to be filled with doing. You are enough, simply in your being you! 

Here's one of my poems from the early am writing sessions
Love in the time of Corona
What do you really value?
What needs to fall away
What truly needs to stay
How do you play on this stage of fear and panic?
Will you give in to the manic of the virus?
My shorona
Take this corona and break it down
It is showing us something
What is it?
Can you find the inner temple of peace and love?
We created all of this
We can make it go away
You get to say
You signed up for this, you’ve been preparing for it your whole life
You have the answers for you, and you know what to do
Be still and know from moment to moment, surrender and trust
Remember you have a virus protector built into your heart with all you need to know
 
Kimberly May
3/26/20

A few photos from my walks and home 


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