What Lockdown Taught Me

Hey guys and welcome back to Stay Sásta. Today's blogpost will be a bit more chatty than usual. Seeing as life is coming back to normal I thought it's the right time to write this post.

 If you had told me back in March that I would have to leave Dublin and move home for over 3 months I'd go crazy. I'd literally think there couldn't be anything worse. I loved college so much and I loved staying up for weekends in Dublin. The picture above is me spending a Sunday in my favourite place; the markets in Dún Laoghaire. I hadn't been home for over 3 weeks the day we heard the colleges were closing.  We all thought it was great, everyone was buzzing to get home for "two weeks". Little did we know lol.   

Even though the circumstances of coming home weren't ideal, I'm so so grateful I got to spend this much time at home. The first picture I posted when I got home was a picture of Belle and the caption "An áit a bhfuil do chroí is ann a thabharfas do chosa thú", which looking back couldn't have been more accurate.These 3 months completely flew by, and I can safely say I thoroughly enjoyed them. The first thing lockdown taught me was to slow down. I am such a busy person and I always like to have plans. Any day that I was in Dublin and I'd have a day to chill I'd go into the city to adventure or pass the day. Even that last month of college I was so stressed with work for placement that I couldn't even enjoy myself. My little sister came to visit me and we went to Lewis Capaldi but all I could think of the whole weekend was the work I had to do.

 Later that week we had to come home. Just like that all the stress was gone. With all the time at home I had to figure out how to just relax and literally learn to do nothing. I had time to just sit and read or paint furniture or do things I'd never get a chance to do. I know now that this is something I want to take with me after lockdown. Just taking time to do nothing will be up on my priority list. I know it sounds cliché but I finally understand that rushing gets me nowhere.

Another thing lockdown taught me was to really appreciate the little things in life. To just sit looking at the beach while drinking coffee every morning is something I definitely took for granted in the past. Spending time at home without having to be going places or rushing to the bus on a Sunday has been so enjoyable. From spending so much time at home I've started going for walks and visiting places I hadn't been to in years. Something as simple as walking on the beach on a sunny day can mean so much now.

 

Spending so much time chilling at home gave me a chance to start projects I would have never had the time to do. I redecorated my whole room one of the first weekends of lockdown. Me and my Dad painted the whole room and moved the furniture around and it felt totally brand new. I painted all the furniture and even got to hang up some pictures. Even starting this blog is something I would never have had the chance to do if it wasn't for lockdown. 

Before lockdown I think we had all heard of the importance of self care but we were probably  too busy to actually do it. To just take time for myself was something I rarely did when now it's a priority. Working out, doing a face mask, turning off your phone, doing yoga or meditating are all ways to make yourself feel so much better. 

I think it's important to look back on times like this and see what we learned or what's changed. Will we go back to rushing and being stressed or will we remember how to just relax and look after ourselves. I'll leave you guys today with this thought;   

"In a rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to". 

Le grá,

M x