Hi all.
I sincerely hope this blog finds you safe, well and at home if you can be.
A lot has changed since our last catch up, not just for me but for everybody on the planet.
It's been really hard to know exactly what to say, except please please follow medical guidelines and stay at home. I have no medical training and so do not come to me for that, please please check your government website for what to do, and FOLLOW it.
Over the past few days, like most people, I've been in shock. I've not known what at all to do, it's been hard to focus on anything at all. I had about 12 hours of feeling really rotten and lost. But I had a lie in, gave myself a break and woke up feeling much better and ready to do my part.
What is my part this is crisis?
- Like I said, I have NO medical training. My role is to forward you to who does. To guide you to official sources of information. I have always been an advocate for checking sources, not spreading misinformation and now it's more vital than ever. Sometimes, this will mean NOT speaking about things at least immediately, on social media there is a demand for your thoughts quickly. I won't be doing that.
- I really do not agree with pushing agendas at this time. I have been pretty disgusted with some of the narratives coming through. I do not in any way support that and I am going to do my absolute best not to push an agenda whilst we all go through this, but just try and support.
- However, many of the skills I have picked up, from frugality, growing myself, fixing etc are going to come in very much handy soon. I will be sharing things, from store cupboard recipes, how to fix on buttons on our social media.
- What we're doing and things I am doing to cope. This is going to be a big slow down. I am not putting myself under any pressure to get things done and pump things out, but I am going to continue often. Things may get hairy but over my life I've had to deal with a few personal crisis' and I have built up some resilience. I hope I can utilise that now. I will still be here.
- Positive news stories and the nice things happening to me. Sometimes this might just be sharing videos from the garden.
- This is a terrifying time for small business. I am going to do what I can to support small businesses and creatives, as always, that are ethical as much as possible.
- To be here for you. In ways that I can. That might be answering your emails, saying hello, messaging on Instagram or dropping food round. I have some huge and growing reservations about using social media for environmental causes. But right now is not the time to practice reduced social media. I am going to do my best to keep things updated to help those who love interaction and will feel lonely at home. Please be patient with this, as social media and media can do a lot to increase my stress and sometimes I have to step away. But as always, TOGETHER we got this.
- At the moment it's uncertain what will happen with the Community Fridge. I will be keeping everyone up to date over on Instagram or you can check on the Forest Row Community Fridge Facebook page.
- All of our markets for the foreseeable future have been cancelled. I am currently seeing how the postage plays out. It may be that the shop closes for a while if I feel my time would be better spent in community projects.
Life is going to change pretty rapidly for us all and everything is uncertain at the moment. I have no answers. This plan may all change soon, as we go through some personal hardships ourselves. All I know this, is space is my haven. Writing and blogging is therapy to me, if turning to my blog helps only me- it's worth it. If it provides one other person with a little light, it's twice as worthy.
Life can be HARD but we can't become hard ourselves. Stay soft, caring and thinking of others.