Life is an Adventure - How to keep it up with Covid-19?

Posted by Sue, Volunteer Mentor @sueinmn, May 6, 2020

For those of us whose mantra is "Life is an Adventure" being confined is a torture. What are you doing to stay positive and hang on to that feeling while self-isolating? How are you dealing with cancellation of activities and trips?
If I stop to muse, I get very sad - my little adventures with my young grandsons have stopped for now, my annual trips to favorite places are cancelled for this year, our long-anticipated trip to the Passion Play is postponed to 2022, and our autumn road trip with friends is in doubt. So, I try to not dwell on those.
I find that the improving weather helps - I go out and walk my neighborhood every day and really observe what is there, admiring blooming trees, emerging gardens, even kitschy yard art along the way. And I try to spend 2 hours in my own gardens working, then I sit quietly on the patio to enjoy the result.
And I guess learning to participate in my formerly face-to-face volunteer activities remotely is a sort of adventure - it surely has challenged my mind and my tech skills.
But I haven't yet resorted to the cleaning and sorting of stuff that seems to be popular among my friends and neighbors - if this goes on....
What are you doing for adventure these days?
Sue

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Good morning @sueinmn You bring up an interesting aspect of our new world. These times can certainly be frustrating!

While everyone is different and how we react to change is unique to each of us I've chosen a different way of looking at this.

First, having lost my wife recently and yesterday losing a longtime friend, I look at our current societal changes as temporary and mostly an inconvenience.

Likewise, since my wife died I bristle when people talk to me about 'getting back to normal' or asking ' how do you like your new normal'. Again, just how I look at life, but I believe if we spend time looking at what was normal or looking to get back to normal, we are spending our time and energy on looking back --- not forward in life. Trying to recapture what was, not looking to what is or will be. Significant changes in our lives do exactly that -- change our lives. I look at my life now as different and that makes it a new unknown. Just as I look at these times as different and not looking back. Sure I miss doing some things, but at the same time I have found far more than what I may have missed. I've spoken to more friends of old, relaxed, completed more long delayed projects, written more letters, read, etc. than ever before.

It's different, but to me different can be very good 🙂

Strength, courage, and peace

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@sueinmn Having moved here about a year ago, from 800 miles away, to an area where we know no one, this whole period has been an adventure! New-to-me destinations/thought patterns/activities. I have decided to embrace all of these, to create myself anew. Volunteer activities have to be newly created. I miss the opportunity to do ham radio as support for bicycle and running charity events, but then they were all cancelled with the shut-down and restrictions. The only one remaining at this time is in October, about 1000 miles away from here. Will I make the drive down? Don't know.

The one big event my husband has participated in for 24 years straight, was just cancelled for this year. It would have been his 25th year in a row, and they planned a ceremony for him. So now they have a year to plan a bigger one, as it will return in 2021.

Adventure is where you find it, and how you make it.
Ginger

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Yes @sueinmn yes I have to agree with your plan I find I'm taking in more on my walks and just enjoying the small things of nature nature around me. Like yesterday on my walk I noticed a humming bird doing it's thing with some flowers and got fascinated with how diligently they work. But also my online things like live streaming my church services and other activities like connect and now we just started a new zoom meeting of the heart transplant group at Phoenix that we used to have in person once a week has been great to see some of my local folks again. It's going to be a different kind of world I think but there are still joys we can embrace. The one thing I hope to restart is Golf. I'm hoping to talk to my team on the 20th and see what they think about that based on my personal issues with virus I have ongoing.
Have a Blessed day
Dana

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I'm waiting in the wings to walk my daughter down the aisle in late November. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out later this year. Back to yard work... 🙁

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Hello,

And thanks for your posts....I take little drives, stay in the car, then come home, talker walks around our little neighborhood....and try to stay calm by staying connected in some way to this forum.....and may I say, a lot of nice things are here....I am new, and would like to know if you can tell me what icon to choice when I like a post....thank you and hope you have a good day....

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@IndianaScott

Good morning @sueinmn You bring up an interesting aspect of our new world. These times can certainly be frustrating!

While everyone is different and how we react to change is unique to each of us I've chosen a different way of looking at this.

First, having lost my wife recently and yesterday losing a longtime friend, I look at our current societal changes as temporary and mostly an inconvenience.

Likewise, since my wife died I bristle when people talk to me about 'getting back to normal' or asking ' how do you like your new normal'. Again, just how I look at life, but I believe if we spend time looking at what was normal or looking to get back to normal, we are spending our time and energy on looking back --- not forward in life. Trying to recapture what was, not looking to what is or will be. Significant changes in our lives do exactly that -- change our lives. I look at my life now as different and that makes it a new unknown. Just as I look at these times as different and not looking back. Sure I miss doing some things, but at the same time I have found far more than what I may have missed. I've spoken to more friends of old, relaxed, completed more long delayed projects, written more letters, read, etc. than ever before.

It's different, but to me different can be very good 🙂

Strength, courage, and peace

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@IndianaScott My sincere condolences on losing a long time friend. It's my understanding there have been limited to no options available when it comes to memorial services or funerals. That makes the sadness even more palpable. Would you care to share something about your friend?
Ginger

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@robbie1956

Hello,

And thanks for your posts....I take little drives, stay in the car, then come home, talker walks around our little neighborhood....and try to stay calm by staying connected in some way to this forum.....and may I say, a lot of nice things are here....I am new, and would like to know if you can tell me what icon to choice when I like a post....thank you and hope you have a good day....

Jump to this post

Welcome @robbie1956. I'm happy that you've settled in with your new friends online on Mayo Clinic Connect.

To "like" a post, click the ♥ icon below the message you wish to like.

You might also wish to upload a picture to your profile - either of yourself or of something you like. Learn more about how to use Connect, including updating your profile and more here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/

Get more tips from this blog About Connect https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/
Select the category "Tips and How to Use"

You mentioned "talker walks around the neighborhood." Are these specifically walks where you talk with neighbors who are outside and at a distance?

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@colleenyoung

Welcome @robbie1956. I'm happy that you've settled in with your new friends online on Mayo Clinic Connect.

To "like" a post, click the ♥ icon below the message you wish to like.

You might also wish to upload a picture to your profile - either of yourself or of something you like. Learn more about how to use Connect, including updating your profile and more here: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/get-started-on-connect/

Get more tips from this blog About Connect https://connect.mayoclinic.org/page/about-connect/
Select the category "Tips and How to Use"

You mentioned "talker walks around the neighborhood." Are these specifically walks where you talk with neighbors who are outside and at a distance?

Jump to this post

Thanks for your reply and help...I will go to the sites you left for me and thanks for the tips on how to use the “like” icon....
As for the “talker walks”, please excuse my terrible typo....I meant to type ‘take walks’, instead I erroneously typed “talker walks”..😪🙃. My walks are solitary..and I listen to my playbacks when I walk, and sometimes I see others walking together, not really practicing social distancing....I love to look at the sunsets around here, and have occasionally photographed them...I will attempt to upload one for my profile.....many thanks to you and all on this very nice place to be.....

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@robbie1956 I'm probably one of those walkers you see "not really practicing social distancing" as I often walk with my spouse, or with my winter housemate - since we don't distance inside, we don't do it outside either. The same can be said for my neighbors in their 4 generation household, my daughters who share childcare and many others. So when I see groups walking I try not to make assumptions... I'm just glad they're out exercising.
Sue

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@robbie1956

Thanks for your reply and help...I will go to the sites you left for me and thanks for the tips on how to use the “like” icon....
As for the “talker walks”, please excuse my terrible typo....I meant to type ‘take walks’, instead I erroneously typed “talker walks”..😪🙃. My walks are solitary..and I listen to my playbacks when I walk, and sometimes I see others walking together, not really practicing social distancing....I love to look at the sunsets around here, and have occasionally photographed them...I will attempt to upload one for my profile.....many thanks to you and all on this very nice place to be.....

Jump to this post

Great profile pic @robbie1956. I rather liked the idea of a talker walk. Listening to podcasts or playbacks is nice too.

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