Hello from Canada! I don’t know about you, but I feel like I am now in some sort of apocalypse type movie. Yesterday we found out that our Prime Minister’s wife now has the coronavirus and that he himself is self isolating. People are buying enough toilet paper to build an addition to their house. And then you have the best and brightest of capitalism reselling and price gouging things like face masks, hand sanitizer and yes toilet paper, preventing those who are immunocomprised or elderly from getting necessary items.
This accompanied with data from the virus has people anxious and worried, and rightfully so. Social distancing is the new buzz word to protect one’s self and the vulnerable.
The reality is that as individuals we can’t do much to tackle the virus as a whole, but we each have a unique opportunity to be a helpful drop in the bucket that is part of the solution and not the problem. I have compiled a few ideas and tips that you may or may not find helpful.
Be Prepared, Not Scared
I think it is important for people to have a reasonable supply of food and necessities for their family. I would suggest the following items – cold and flu meds – just in case, cleaning supplies, soap, enough food for a few weeks, maybe some new books, games or music or some other sort of diversion in case you need to self isolate, toiletries and a couple packs of toilet paper.
Please for heavens sake – DO NOT PANIC buy! Keep in mind that there are vulnerable populations who also need supplies but are only able to finance their purchases from week to week.
Your Body, Your Temple
At times like this, we are reminded about the imperanence of human life and the fact that we only have one body, so take care of it. Now is a great time to practice a little more self care for that body.
Make sure you are getting enough sleep, consider taking a multivitamin supplement, try to eat healthy and find ways to get in some physical activity. You don’t have to give up your regular gym routines. Youtube is a wonderful playground of exercise activities. There are many great workout videos that require no equipment.
It’s all about perspective. The stronger and healthier you are, the less likely there will be a siginificant impact on you, even if you get the corona virus.
Needless to say, wash your hands! I have taken to making up lyrics to this song below, adding in B-B-B-Byyyye Corona as I watch the suds (and any germs) circle the drain!
Mind Matters
For people who struggle with mental health issues like anxiety, depression or PTSD this can be a particularly challenging time and we all have our own ways of dealing with things. Here are a few suggestions that help me as I go through many different feelings and emotions regarding this situation.
- Be as prepared as you can (see the first two tips above).
- Ensure that you have some virtual social supports, people you can call or chat with online.
- Don’t be afraid to talk about what you are feeling. You are not alone, it is likely others are feeling similar things and sometimes the act of speaking your fears can make them less.
- When accessing information about the coronavirus ensure it is accurate and fact check if necessary.
- Find ways to keep busy. Read a new book(s), cuddle with pets (dogs and cats are immune by the way), take up a new hobby you have been putting off or focus on an existing one. If you have the technology consider online social gatherings. Binge watch Netflix!
- Take time to practise self care, take a nice warm bath, light some candles, meditate, and get in some physical activity. Now is a good time to release happy exercise endorphins.
- Try not to read some of the atrocious comments on social media. It’s not okay to wish illness on anyone and reading such comments can’t be great for one’s mental health.
- And don’t forget to laugh when you can!
Be Kind
If you are able to help people who are self isolating, the elderly or vulnerable now is a great time to do so. Ask an elderly neighbour if you can pick them up anything at the store if you are going. Call and check in on those who are vulnerable (virtually). Don’t panic buy and share with others in need if you have an abundance of something.
If you see someone struggling online or in real life with dealing with this virus help where you can. A smile (from a distance) or a kind comment can alter the course of someone’s day.
Ultimately it is in situations like this that we decide what kind of world we want to live in. I am choosing a kinder one. One that is kind to myself and those around me. I hope you will choose this world too.
If you want to panic buy something, I have plenty of books in stock of ‘A Potter’s Dream: Myths & Legends’. It’s a nice read and you can buy as many as you like and the best news is everyone will still have toilet paper! For the duration of the pandemic, I am offering it at a discounted price of $23/US, inclusive of delivery in Canada and the US. It’s also cheaper then what some people reselling toilet paper are charging, but don’t get any ideas!
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Stay positive humans are the biggest pandemic … we out live all … 🤣. But ona serious not iam on Toronto as well and yes please say healthy and safe where ever you are on the world
I am on the East Coast. Bluenose here 👍. I hope you are well and stay safe. Toronto is such a great vibrant city. Must feel a bit different than usual with all this going on.
Ic toronto is good… but east coast people are awesome
Really appreciate your post. I will be adding a link to your post on my blog. Blessings! KCB
Thank you! I really appreciate that!
LOVE THIS
Thanks! Best wishes for a healthy and happy weekend.
Be well and blessed!!
Thanks. You as well! Have a healthy and joyful weekend.
Right on.
Thanks!
A nice read – a positive attitude in time of crisis. Kindness is priceless. Bless you!!
Bless you and may you have a healthy and happy weekend! All the best!
Thank you! 🙂
Nice thoughts! If you don’t mind, I’ll add two.
First, based on experiences being cooped up for hurricanes and whatnot, try to keep your daily and weekly routines as much as possible. For example, if you go out for lunch with friends once a week, why not all get together for lunch over Skype? If you can’t go to work, and can’t do that work at home, think about those things you never have time for, and get at them 9-5! It would be a shame to look back on three weeks wasted!
Another I’m getting started on is this. We still get Christmas cards from the many elderly ladies we’ve known through the years. I’m going to send each of them a … Welcome Spring(?) note. Maybe include a few printed photos. Just a few lines of chat. Lots of these ladies really like going out to McD’s or where ever for their coffee, to go window shopping, etc. I’m guessing they will appreciate a little surprise in their mailboxes.
Meanwhile– you & yours take care and stay well.
Love those tips and I had a sixth sense that you would comment on this post and have some wonderful tips to add. I think skype socials may become a thing for the next while.
I am going to go put a bottle of wine in my neighbours male box. Her and the hubby just got back from a tip and are self isolating.
I hope everyone is well at your place and you all stay well.
Check this link from Blog Toronto 🙂
https://www.blogto.com/tech/2020/03/joint-research-team-toronto-has-successfully-isolated-virus-causing-covid-19/
I was reading about that. Hopefully they are able to develop a vaccine or some sort of treatment. Makes me proud to be a Canadian that it happened it here 😉
Yes! You knew I’m from Toronto, right?
Yes! I am on the East Coast. Some of the pictures I have seen of the stores in Toronto are… Beyond words!
I guess some are. I’m not a big shopper though. 😊
Those are some great, practical, non-hysterical tips that go beyond “wash your hands and don’t touch your face.” Thank you for your kindness and rationality.
That is so nice to hear and you are very welcome. The situation has been on my mind for a little while and I managed to find my words. Wishing you and yours all the best.
Great thoughts and reminders. Yes, kindness is contagious, spread it around.
Thank you for your kind comment 😉 We need more kindness in this world. I hope you are well and wishing you all the best in this odd time.
Very good advice! Here in the States, we’re dealing with the same thing. Some places are out of toilet paper, some are not. But there’s no hand sanitizer to be found at stores, which means that places that really need it (day cares, etc.) are facing a problem!
Yes! People should definitely panic buy books!
They may be cheaper than toilet paper for the time being! Stay safe and healthy, wishing you all the best!
Hahaha, good point! Take care 🙂
People should absolutely cuddle with their pets. I have lots of books, a jigsaw puzzle, plenty of cross-stitch projects to do and my darling kitten to distract me.
Pets will be excited for the extra cuddles and attention they get during all of this. Glad to hear that you have some activities to keep you busy! It is a great time to create and snuggle the furbabies! Stay safe and healthy and enjoy your time with you darling kitten 😉
I bought 2 of the last packages of tp left on the shelves yesterday- I did leave a few others for others 🙂. The hand sanitizer was gone- as was much of the soap- disinfectant wipes and sprays. Luckily there were some hidden in the cabinets at our store and we have plenty of rubbing alcohol. Most importantly I got all of my errands run and am well stocked for our rapidly approaching plague- cation- which is good because I think the s*** is going to really hit the fan at some point next week (round here at least). Stay safe 🤞
Glad you have what you need to ride this one through! I think you are right that things may well get considerably worse before they get better. I have been watching the numbers here and in other countries that have been hard hit and it is absolutely heart breaking to see. We had to make our own handsantizer, because it was impossible to find here. Maybe I should try bartering some toilet paper for it 😉 Stay safe and well and healthy. Best wishes to your and yours.
If worse comes 2 worse I can try to mail u a roll or 2 🙄 I think I am going to attempt a grocery run 2 marro morning- hopefully things will have been restocked a bit 🤞remember rubbing alcohol and bleach and hydrogen peroxide r your friends! Just don’t mix bleach with the hydrogen peroxide 🙂
Good timely post. Be prepared, but do not go overboard with panic buying. Stay healthy. Allan
Thanks Allan! Best wishes for health for you and yours.
Wonderful post thank you! I am thinking I could also use quarantine time to do some spring cleaning if I got bored with reading. What am I saying, I will use any at home time to read. Good luck, wishing you good health.
Happy reading and spring cleaning! I have been using my time that way too and to make some pottery and get seeds started for the garden. Wishing you good health and and luck!
If anything the coronavirus is curbing a life long nail biting habit 😀
I didn’t realise how often I touched my face with my hands until now. I also bite my nails Oh dear!
haha! I am with you on the first count! It is really hard not to touch your face! Hope you are well. Stay safe!
Haha! Thanks for the laugh 😉 It has not helped as much with my cuticle chewing as it should 😉 Stay safe and well 😉
thanks you as well
After the idiocy and incompetence displayed by El Presidente and his many brown-nosers, it’s such a relief whenever anyone displays any compassion and common sense about COVID-19. Thank you for this post.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. It is a very sad situation indeed. I think most world leaders have missed the mark on this one. My heart breaks for all my American friends and readers as it appears you guys will be hit hard by this. In Canada, we have had a more substantial response, but I wish we had responded sooner. Here is hoping that people can pull together and turn things around. It seems holding up in your home is the safest and perhaps only option at this point. Stay safe, sending best wishes.
I am in Texas and you just spoke of my reality. The scene at the supermarkets is horrifying, and for what? I have no idea. Thank you for your post.
Hopefully the panic starts to calm down. We are now ordering our groceries online for pick up. A lot less stressful that way! Stay safe and well and thanks for commenting!
Nice post, Jay! Thank you for sharing. 💞
Absolutely wonderful post. And beautiful work as always. Much love to you!
Thank you so much Lia! Stay safe and well – sending lots of love and good vibes, along with some clean sea air from Canada’s East Coast!
Good stuff here. I am in Missouri US. Not many confirmed cases here let, but plenty of fear as pretty much everything was cancelled as of a few days ago and much about normal life just sort of ground to a halt. I’m oddly feeling pretty calm about it. I live with a healthcare worker so I’m pretty sure it’ll be coming home to my family eventually. It’s all kind of surreal. But we are fortunate to have been stocked up on toilet paper before the rush, so it’s all good. 😉
Sending you and your healthcare worker lots of good energy and my best wishes for you all to remain safe and healthy. I hope they have access to masks and protective gear in their job. We do not have too many cases here, but that seems like it could change. It is very surreal, I would never have imagined this would be part of 2020.
Protective equipment supplies are a concern for sure, but they’re gearing up for an onslought. Things are changing every day as I’m sure is the case everywhere.
My husband couldn’t find toilet paper in 2 grocery stores yesterday. Even the suppliers for Amazon are out of toilet paper but I was able to order the commercial grade toilet paper as backup. I live in the US and wish everyone good health wherever you are.
The commercial toilet paper is not kind on the tush, but it will do in an emergency! I am not sure if you guys have any stores that are accepting orders ahead of time. We put one into a grocery store for pick up and were able to get a couple packs of toilet paper. Maybe that might work for you too? Stay safe and healthy my friend!
I love this!
I love that you are choosing kindness above all. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance via WordPress. Know that you have a new friend cheering you on in Minnesota.
Cheers, Catie
Thank you so much for such a kind comment and for your kind words. It is a pleasure to meet you here on wordpress too! I appreciate your positivity and you have a new friend cheering you on here in Nova Scotia! Wishing you good health!
Love this post, thank you for the sane advice. I am trying to figure out that toilet paper thing too. It is like some sort of test, some of us follow a certain way of doing things and others scratch our heads looking around like “What the heck” and you are right about hoarding and taking advantage of this by buying things just to sell at crazy prices…that is mean. Anyway, this was a nice post. I am sure a lot of people are benefiting from reading it too, so thank you again for that. Have a great weekend creating beautiful things.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I hope you have managed to sort out the toilet paper situation. The word here is that there is plenty and they were just having trouble to keep it stocked. We put in a grocery order online for pickup and we were able to get some. Maybe that could be an option for you as well? I hope you have a great weekend and stay healthy and safe!
Great post Jay, common sense people!
Thanks Tiffany! I hope you are well. I was sad to find that the shower curtain was not long enough. It’s not your supplier, just our weird bathroom LOL Stay safe and well!
I’ve had that song in my head for weeks! I thought I was unique in thinking I was clever in making up Corona lyrics to it until I discovered several versions of it on youtube. 🙂 It does feel a bit Apocalyptic at the moment. :-/
Haha! Yeah I was tempted to write a whole song to that tune, but was not too surprised to see it had been done 😉 It just fits so well with the situation. I hope you are staying safe and healthy! All the best!
Yesterday I went around from one grocery store and drug store to another just to find mask and hand sanitizer for my office. It’s so hard to find. Then when I got it, it’s really expensive 😣
I hope everyone is healthy. Wherever you are.
It seems like they are increasing the prices for things like masks and santizer. We had to make our own hand santizer, but are blessed to be able to work from home, so it is only for when we need to run an errand, which won’t be too often. I hope you stay healthy and safe!
Amazing read friend.
I’ve talked about this virus situation here in Italy as well. It’s no joke, but again we need to be prepared.
Thank you for your kind comment! Sending lots of love and healing to Italy. It is heartbreaking to watch what is happening there. Stay safe and well.
Yesterday, this Haligonian flew from Halifax, with two layovers – Toronto and Vancouver – final destination – Comox Airport – to bring me to Campbell River, BC. The talk is everywhere of the virus. Hand washing is rampant. Lots of toilet paper in the bathrooms. Some people wearing masks. Some people won’t visit with me because I’ve traveled. It’s an odd thing…. I don’t want to buy into the hysteria but I don’t want to minimize either. I’m calm, aware and washing my hands.
That must have been quite an experience going through the airport at this time. Hopefully the journey was not to stressful. I think you are doing everything you can. Our neighbours got back from Mexico last week and they are self isolating just in case. Keep calm and wash on! I wonder if someone is going to make that meme 😉 Stay safe and well Stephanie!
Keep Calm and Wash On!!! Love it!!! The trip here wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary, well except zero line up going through customs at the Halifax airport, airport staff wearing gloves, everyone seemed a bit on edge, there were extra seats on the plane from Halifax to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver… well maybe not as ordinary as I thought. Gonna blog about it!!! You too take care and be well Mr. Alchemist!!! <3 🙂
A wise & kind post – thanx!
So, Canadians cherish their toilet paper, too? Who knew? And I thought all the crazy people lived here in Dallas… Hopefully people will soon realize that it isn’t the end of the world, calm down and stop hoarding.
Stay safe – and sane!
Thank you for your kind words! Oh yeah toilet paper is pretty scarce even still in stores. We def have our share of crazy people here too 😉 Some might say I am one of them 😉 May calmer heads prevail. Wishing you well and sanity too. All the best!
I could mention all that I am seeing, dealing with, and feeling, but I would rather just say that reading your post helped me to feel more grounded. I also love your suggestion of stocking up on your beautiful book. 🙂 Thank you.
My daughter is a visual artist, like you, and I will share her sentiment from last week when many things in her world were cancelled (art gallery showing, scheduled festival work, University classes, etc.). She called on all of her artist friends to use this time to go within and create more art. I am sure you are doing the same. ❤️ With many cancellations in my world, I am following her lead and using my freed up time to create my art (poetry and stories). Please take care everyone and be well.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts and reflections and I am glad that my post made you feel more grounded.
I think your daughter’s suggestion and call to create is indeed beautiful. I am in the process of doing just that and it helps to keep my mind focussed on the now. I look forward to reading what you come up with in this time. I think I am going to attempt to make a coronavirus sculpture. It’s reality is ugly, but the shape looks like an interesting challenge.
Wishing you well and stay safe!
I love your idea! I look forward to seeing your creation.
Excellent advice! Stay well! 🙂
Thank you! Wishing you all the best! Stay well and healthy 😉
Very nice post with some great ideas. Blessings to each one!
Thank you so much for your very kind comment! Wishing you and yours good health and wellness. Stay safe!
I really appreciate your post. It is the voice of calm in the midst of all this panic. Moving calmly in the storm is really the best answer and helping others when the opportunity arises. Stay well. This, too, will pass.
Thank you for your kind comment and for your wise words! We all need to try to stay as calm as possible and do our best to help where we can. Glad to know there are others thinking the same way. Wishing you and yours good health. Stay well and safe!
You make it difficult to want to carry even the slightest bit of anger. I had an epiphany that fear, not greed, could just as likely be someone’s prime motivator right now. And I am breaking out all of my awesome bath products that I was saving for…special occasions. It might not be all around a positive occasion, but this is a pretty special time right now in the universe. Your book has provided me with an invaluable and beautiful distraction. I do recommend to anyone who likes to look at the pictures and a good read. For a great multipurpose catalog, I recommend Grainger. It provides boost to see out of car windshield, while serving as 4 inches of possible TP replacement. as a
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and for keeping in touch here and on IG! Certainly helping me stay more calm! I am really pleased that you enjoyed my book and that it was a good distraction. I think we all need those right now. Thanks for the good laugh regarding the Grainger catalogue 😉
I think it is great that you are breaking out all of the fancy bath products now. I think we all need a boost to our mood, so I can’t think of a better time to do so. I think fear is the primary factor in the panic buying at this point.
Stay safe and I will ping you a little later on IG to see how you are all doing 😉
Helpful tips. Thanks.
Thank you so much for your kind comment. You are very welcome. Stay safe and healthy!
Thanks. You too.
Thoughtful post. Thank you for writing it.
Thank you so much for your kind comment! Wishing you and yours all the best! Stay healthy and safe!
B-b-b bye corona…. I’m gonna have that stuck in my head now.
and now it is back in mine too!
Very thoughtful preventive measures, Anand Bose from Kerala
Some sound advice, thanks. I liked: “People are buying enough toilet paper to build an addition to their house.”. Unfortunately, so true (although the pace of buying is slowing here, at last, I think)
Yes it seems to be slowing here as well, with other items (unfortunately food being among them) now being at a lack for people. I hope you are keeping well.
Well-written!!!
Here’s the link to my article on how the COVID-19 outbreak impacts our family during the national lockdown here in India.
https://merrymotherhood.co.in/2020/04/02/this-is-our-new-normal/
Thank you for sharing this Divya, and I hope you are keeping well.
Thanks for your insightful and wonderful posts. You are inspiring! Keep doing what you do ☺
Thank you for your kind comment, Nancy. I hope you are keeping well.
It’s a wonderful idea to panic buy books. I think I’ve been panic buying book as an anxiety coping mechanism since I was a kid.
Oh I understand that! Reading is a great way to take a break from the world and learn and have fun as you go. Definitely a big fan. Stay safe!
Great post for these dark times, Jay! Stay safe and sanitized!
Great blog for these dark times, Jay! Keep safe and sanitized!
Thank you for your kind words, and I do love that “keep safe and sanitized!” you too!
Thanks, Jay!
Such a thoughtful post! Stay safe🙏😌
Thank you
You are most welcome. Thanks for thanking and keep well!