Since the start of this pandemic, I've been cursing it and everything negative it caused. The isolation, the not being able to see friends and family due to the travel ban and Canadian Travel restrictions, the loss of work, the loss of money, the not being able to travel due to travel restrictions and the constant bombardment of Covid-19 this and Covid-19 that.
Yes, it's been rough in so many ways, but I'm starting to see the good that has come out of it. It's been almost a year since the lockdowns, isolation and mass covid travel restrictions became a part of everyday life. The first few weeks was a constant string of bad news. First my beloved cat Captain Jack passed away followed by the news that the project I was working on was stopping along with my income. Than the worse shooting in Canadian history right here in my quiet, peaceful home province of Nova Scotia. All this combined with the bad news coming from all corners of the world made me anxious and even depressed.
As the months passed, there were ups and downs, goods and bads and all sorts of emotions and hurdles and new developments. But it's only recently that I've started to realize that, despite all the bad, some really good things came out of all this. I should have seen it earlier. I should have embraced those doors that were opening up to me. I should have appreciated the things that were transpiring. But my eyes were closed and my brain was focused on the changes, the losses, this new normal that wasn't at all normal...at least not the normal I was used to. But who defines normal anyway
I feel like I've been more fortunate than a lot of people on one front. While many people I know were upset because they couldn't visit restaurants, bars and movie theatres anymore, nothing changed for me. I don't go to any of those places often anyway. I am an outdoors person. I will pick a picnic in the woods or a hike along the shore over a restaurant meal or movie theater outing any day!
I don't know when it hit. I don't it hit all at once. It was a gradual thing. I started to lighten up a bit, think a little more positively and that's when things started happening. Or maybe it was me just becoming so comfortable with all the negativity around me that It started feeling normal enough for me to start thinking straight again. Sounds weird but everything is weird these days. I still can't make any sense out of anything anymore but at least, I am moving forward in some way and I'm not in the very dark place I was a few months ago. Loss of employment and sense of purpose will do that to a person...but a new-found purpose can do wonders for a person.
I'm currently freelancing full-time now. No, I'm not getting rich of it. Not even close. But, I'm doing something I love, I'm filling my time with purposeful work and I'm making enough to get by. I also must say that I am quite proud of myself for remaining independent and for being resourceful. Not many people can say that they have a talent outside of their regular work that they can use in a pinch to survive. I feel very grateful for that. My writing was once a hobby but now it's a lifeline! So many new doors have opened up, many new connections have been made and I've learned so many new things! The best thing is I'm still writing about travel despite the mass travel restrictions. While I'm not writing about my own travel since I'm under Canadian travel restrictions, I'm writing travel content for other sites. In my free time, I take courses and work on my social media channels and, from time-to-time, I write a blog filled with updates that will soon turn onto blogs about my own travels. Hoping we can return to normal soon as I have many trips and adventures planned once the travel ban is lifted!
As for current adventures, we finally got enough snow here so I could get a day of snowshoeing in. I Don't know how long the snow will last with all the rain and freezing rain we seem to get in the winters now but if I get out once, that's better than nothing since I didn't get out at all last year. I stay pretty close to home for the most part though. Every few days, I'll walk at Dominion Beach to see if any new and interesting debris washed up and to visit my friends the foxes, seals and eagles. I'm itching to go further and do more but until Covid takes a hike, I'm content getting some things done around home! That's one good thing about the travel restrictions - I'm spending time completing some projects around home that I would otherwise not get to!
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