Yes, we are in the throes of a global pandemic, but we’ve got to take precautions, do our best to stay safe and try to focus on the positives as panic isn’t helping anyone! So, instead of lying awake again last night worrying about loved ones it might have a negative effect on; I decided to try to think of a silver lining – and strangely I thought of more than one!

I thought others might benefit from thinking in this way too, so to contribute to a more positive outlook on this horrible situation, I’ve listed below 19 good things I’ve noticed that may otherwise not have happened. We are all in this together!

  1. In this time of war against an invisible enemy, to play our part as the general public, we aren’t being asked to go to war, sending every able bodied man to a different country to fight for us, separating immediate families for months or indefinitely, we are just being asked to stay at home and I am thankful for that!
  2. On a lighter note (pardon the pun) we are all being encouraged to take one daily form of exercise everyday. With all these people out and about exercising and walking off the stress of being inside all day, I have to wonder if we (as a generation) will be lighter as result of all the extra miles walked each evening?!
  3. Perhaps it’s just me, but I’m hearing more about people taking better care of their health in relation to eating better food. The clear advice from medical experts includes eating more nutritious food (in order to better equip your body to ward off the virus, should you come into contact with it.) As a result, people seem to be making different dinner and snack time choices! They’ve also more time to make dinner with everyone confined to their homes and sporting and community groups being cancelled for the time being!
  4. This virus didn’t stop at a country border, or the edge of a continent. It laughed at manmade barriers and passed through unseen to attack our most vulnerable. It has however, united people from across the world in their response and coping mechanisms to it. Sharing tips to get by in quarantine times, recipes, games, education, exercises. Locally in the UK, we’ve thankfully seen a positive response from people wanting to look after the vulnerable among us to provide food and necessities for them. This is heart warming and a relief to see! How many new friendships and bonds will be created because of this, how many people will see that they are no longer on their own and there is a support network there to help them in their time of need.
  5. Wildlife benefits must include the awareness created about the wet markets in China and new laws to forbid its trade. Albeit there seem to be loopholes but at least it is moving forward. Globally, there are lots of videos of wildlife enjoying the less congested urban areas including dolphins moving back into Venice now the waters aren’t muddied with hundreds of boats and water taxi’s etc.
  6. Thousands of family dogs are getting to enjoy walks through their neighbourhoods each night instead of their owners going to the gym! They’re also not being left in crates through the day while their owners are at work because of the thousands of people working from home.
  7. People are being forced to spend more time at home with their immediate families. I’ve never witnessed so many families walking with prams or dogs on leads. Women on their own with a pram is a regular sight, but a full family walk becoming a new reality is a pretty nice thought. It’s well documented that for some time, the art of conversation has been in decline and suicide rates increasing. I hope those families are talking to each other and reopening those lines of communications that drew them together in the first place. It’s important to acknowledge that not everyone has a positive home environment so for those in need I hope they know there is support and help available. If in Northern Ireland you can call, Nexus 0808 802 1414  or Womens Aid website have online chat, email or phone help available here:
    https://www.womensaid.org.uk/ . or the Samaritans
    https://www.samaritans.org/ For those learning more about their loved ones and getting to spend valuable time that would otherwise have been spent in their workplace or travelling home from it – please make best use of this time!! Create good memories, spend time with them, talk to them enjoy this silver lining.
  8. Home learning – while it’s not easy to incorporate home schooling with working from home, I am loving the Facebook shares of parents connecting with their kids and improving their own understanding so they can explain lessons on a one to one level with their little and not so little ones. I am heartbroken for the kids who were due to sit important exams later this year having already invested many years in preparation. However, to stay positive about it; they’re now getting to learn in new ways and I hope resources continue to be made available to help them all learn.
  9. People are being actively encouraged to work from home – for years, many have wanted to spend more time at home and less time travelling to a place of work many miles away when they could have done the same work from the comfort of their own home. I know it’s working out better for some businesses than others, but either way it has forced our generation to change the way we look at where we work. Hopefully it will pave the way for a more accommodating working life for those who in employment.
  10. Some people are getting a glimpse of the life they’ve been missing out on while they took their daily spot in the rat race. Leaving for work in the dark and returning in the dark again. For anyone wanting to build a new way of life that they can do flexibly from home with only their own goals as a boss, click here to email me for info on how I could help you make that a reality.
  11. Environmental benefits of working from home mean that thousands of people worldwide aren’t adding to pollutive congestion twice a day as they travel to and from work, not to mention the travel bans on many flights!
  12. Mother nature is sick, and this forced pause is offering a chance to let her heal and let us see the damage we’ve been doing. I hope this time to review and reflect lets those who can make a difference, make the decisions they need to, to improve the world we live in for the better.
  13. The forced equality this virus has pushed onto us is a reminder that we are all equal. It doesn’t care who you are, how many followers you have on social media, how famous you are, where you live, the car you drive, what country you are from or who you know! What an example to our children! The important members of our society are those who provide essential items, and healthcare.
  14. We’ve received a wakeup call that we’ve become too dependent on material things and taken essentials for granted. This humbling experience has given us the opportunity to personally review and make a change for the better
  15. We have to hope that governments provide packages to supporting high street retailers classed as non-essential, but online sales and shops are booming. Sales on amazon have rocketed in the past couple of weeks. The people who have been working from home to create a backup plan or an extra income for their families are experiencing growth. Those who listened to the market trends, took that knowledge and acted on it moving their high street shops online are being rewarded for it.
  16. We’ve been given an opportunity to take time out and learn new skills to improve our way of life. Please make the most of this opportunity, learn the things you’ve been craving, do the things (if you safely can within the confines of government guidelines) that you’ve been wanting to try, do it – up level and make lemonade with these lemons!
  17. We’ve never been given a better opportunity to re-prioritize! We are realising that we are not our jobs, they are just something we do! It can be so easy to be sucked into our jobs because of the percentage of our lifetime we spend doing it but this time has taken it away for this brief period and forced us home to the important things in life, our health, family and loved ones.
  18. We are appreciating the true heroes in our generation – those in the health and essential services. Our NHS workers had to strike for weeks last year for the government to recognise they needed help. Where would we be today if our health workers couldn’t have afforded to stay in that line of work or have the resources to do their jobs. Those same nurses and doctors who faced criticism for standing on the picket lines are now being publicly recognised for forming our front line. We appreciate you!
  19. We are currently in 3 weeks of lockdown to stay at home and slow the spread of the virus, but it also takes 21 days to form a new habit. In 3 weeks’ time, regardless of what steps we must take next, will the new bonds within immediate family, the increase in daily exercise, the improved diet, concentration on mindfulness, the increased caring within our community lead us to a better place? I hope so! I hope you all stay safe and well.