Today, on ‘What a Difference 8 Days Makes’ let’s focus on a few different things. We’re all trying to keep up with what’s going on – while living our daily lives in lock down. Keeping a regular schedule can be difficult and some of us have felt a bit adrift in the midst of all this. It’s very difficult to be isolated from family and friends. But we are the masters of our own fate and our perspective. And there is so much good going on.
PUT A BOX AROUND IT – The first thing I realized is that I needed a schedule. Some how, some way I had to put borders around my day to keep myself sane. So this is what I came up with. I’ve given myself permission to be flexible on days we need to go out and pick up supplies for ourselves and others, but so far – it’s working. I told my friend here about. She struggling. ‘Send it to me. I’m too lazy to make one of my own.’
ON THE HEART WARMING FRONT – Ladies in Alicante are doing their best to use their unique skills and fill a gap in their community during the crisis. Normally on a Thursday they’d be sewing shoes in their homes as piece work. But now they’re making masks for local hospitals and trying to shore up the shortage of medical equipment that is so urgently needed, both here and around the world. You can read about these amazing folks here. We all have something to give.
TODAY IN VALENCIA – At noon we had balcony concerts. Musicians from around the city gathered on their individual balconies and played in unison to bring unity to the city and reinforce the message that, while we can’t be together, we are all in this together. Fireworks are going off (very Valencian) from roof tops around the city on what would have been the final day of Fallas, if it hadn’t been cancelled. And neighbors in buildings and homes are getting creative on having their own mascletas, while maintaining a prescribed social distance.
SOMETHING COOL – Here is a link to a live stream on YouTube where they’ll update real-time 24 hours a day on the situation surrounding the virus, by country. So you won’t have to wait for the media, who is usually hours or even days behind on their updates. You can scare the hell out of yourself any time you want. Even in the middle of the night. Yay!
BILL GATES TRIED TO TELL US – All the way back in 2015, Bill Gates did a TED Talk on a future global flu pandemic. He predicted what is happening now. Bet the Gates Foundation has some ideas we could implement now or strategies for going forward. It’s worth 6 minutes of your time here. Note: He references social and economic inequality and its danger to public health. No surprise there!
GOOD NEWS! THEY GOT THIS – So many government labs, universities and researchers around the world are working on, not only a vaccine, but medicines to treat the virus we’re currently facing. And to look towards the future. University of Texas Austin and the National Insitutes of Health achieved a breakthrough in coming up with a 3D map of the virus in just 12 days, which will help researcher understand it more quickly, identify how it attaches to the lungs, and develop treatment solutions while we’re all waiting for the development of a vaccine. More hero’s we didn’t even know we had.
HOUSEKEEPING:A LITTLE WHATSAPP ETIQUETTE – What can I say? It’s a lifeline during this time. But it’s also the most annoying thing on the 🌎! I love my Meditation and Mindfulness group but even they are spaming me with too many ❤️ and 😜 and 👍 emojis – eek! And the videos? So, lets all just remember the old saying – Where there is one WhatsApp group, there are 10 more. Etiquette dictates that you use your Group Chat for the specific purpose. Hiking – Meditation – Friday Night Dinners. Whatever it is, keep yourself on topic and keep the hilarious videos of farting house-bound boneheads off the feed. Unless, of course you belong to a WhatsApp group called ‘Farting Housebound Boneheads’ and if you do, then carry on.
That’s it for this episode. I wish you all a wonderful rest of your day. Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay tuned until tomorrow – Random time. Same Place – cause, well, we’re-locked-in-loaded. See what I did there? I’m here all week.
Viva Espana 