I want to have a fighting chance in this crazy world. So I was pondering about what things I can do  that can help me feel like I have more control over my reactions to this pandemic.

As I was pondering I remembered taking a Successful Adult Relationships class at Yakima Valley Community College taught by Sharon Cox. One day she told us about a study that was done on different world cultures and what they all had in common when it came to healing in all areas of their lives.  There were four things that most cultures had in common.
They are:
1. Singing        2. Dancing      3. Story telling     4. Silence

Over the years I've used these in difficult times to keep myself going. Now people are starving to socialize but have to be isolated. So some pretty unique things have come about because of the resource of the internet.  Think about the story of the people in Italy who opened their windows and sang with each other and the YouTube performances from musicians who had to cancel concerts, events, or tours. (Singing) I have also seen people getting online together to put on music and just dance. (Dancing) Libraries, preschools, and famous people are reading stories for free for children to watch and listen to. We are taking part in that starting on March 31. We'll post the stories on this site and our Facebook page. (Storytelling) 
Lastly people are sending out invitations to join  in prayers and meditation for all the people of our world. (Silence)  Interesting how all those things match the four activities I mentioned above.

My challenge to you is to come up with ways you can incorporate these four things daily in your life in ways that fit your circumstances.  Everyone is asking for ideas on things to do so here are some of mine: 
I plan on singing while I play the piano and also with songs recorded online.
I found dance instructors on YouTube so I'll be doing that. 
I'll be reading stories and videoing them for grand-kids and patrons.
I'll be praying and meditating every day.

GOOD LUCK, STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY!!!!! 

Please comment and share the activities you came up with relating to the four areas listed above.
If you have a subject you'd like me to address please comment below.

This blog is for all families who wish to learn how to become more resourceful during tough times.
We are definitely going through that with the pandemic that we're experiencing.

Yesterday I was talking with my cousin and we were thinking back to what life was like before cell phones and internet. We actually had to use our imagination to invent things we could play with and create things to do or games to play when there seemed to be nothing else to do. If we didn't have a crown to be a princess we'd make one out of whatever we could find.

In affluent societies where children have access to new technology that isn't limited the child becomes disconnected from themselves and their own creativity. When my children were growing up I'd cancel cable service every time they'd quit spending time outdoors, reading, practicing their talents, or relating to the rest of the family. Presently, I find I have to uninstall a game app whenever I feel I can't wait to play the game before I do anything else. I'd tell myself "You can play after you get this done". It'd only works sometimes so I then had to force myself to let it go and uninstall the game. Am I losing my creativity?

So how do I do a restart? 
#1 Stop going to the store when I think I need something. Instead find a substitute or do without. Examples:
Problem one: Need toilet paper and wet wipes.  Find old towels or fabric and cut in squares and sew around the edges if you know how to sew. Look up how to make a portable bidet.
Problem 2: Didn't' have eggs to bake a cake. Use ground flax seed. It has instructions on the bag on how to use in baking to replace eggs. (I found a can of dried whole eggs I had purchased  a couple years back. I have to solutions for one problem).  Yay me!