Coffee and Conversations: Brewing Life Stories, One Post at a Time
The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we do things. A few months ago, I never thought that this situation would go out of hand. To be honest, I thought that COVID-19 is just “another” virus that can be contained upon the immediate release of the right vaccine. In fact, it never crossed my mind that this pandemic will result in strict travel restrictions, varying guidelines on quarantine, and even cause disruptions in the world economy.
Nowadays, people can no longer enjoy leisure travels to their favorite destinations. As of the moment, only essential travels are allowed in various cities and countries around the world. At the same time, many individuals have lost their jobs because of the closure of small-time businesses and even large firms. Several entrepreneurs incurred big losses because of the pandemic, which is why some of them have decided to cease operations permanently. Indeed, a lot of things have gone messy because of COVID-19.
The next question that we should ask ourselves is this: What should we do next?
Whether we like it or not, we have no choice but to continue to live our days under the “new normal.”
There are now new ways of doing things, which include wearing face masks in public places, avoiding big celebrations, transitioning to online classes for students, creating remote work environment for employees and even completing necessary documents before traveling outside of one’s place. As a result, we have lesser opportunities to meet our friends, talk to people, dine out to our go-to restaurants and have personal interaction with others. All these have caused anxiety and troubles to many of us. However, I believe that it is time to learn how to accept the situation and start to focus on what’s coming ahead of us.
We have to start to see the good during these trying times. No one said that it is going to be easy, especially when we are still currently living with the consequences of the pandemic. For today’s article, allow me to help you focus on the positive side of things. I want to highlight the best stories and experiences that I’ve personally encountered under the new normal.
There are several people in the Philippines who were not able to make the best out of the summer season. Many of us are used to travelling to beautiful cities, having staycations at resorts or going on road trips with our friends during the months of April and May. However, we were not able to do any of these because of the imposition of social distancing and quarantine protocols nationwide.
In Davao city, the locals did not have difficulty in dealing with the cancelled summer plans. Fortunately, a Facebook group called “Davao Barter Community (Official)” was created. This group allows Dabawenyos to exchange goods with one another. It is good to see people finding treasure in someone’s old stuff. In my case, I had more than thirty books that I haven’t opened in the last few years. What I did was create a post offering these books for trade with basically anything. It was amazing to see how my old books were exchanged for some grocery items and coffee grounds!
The existence of Davao Barter Community has helped many people, not only in decluttering from their homes but also in giving them opportunities to start anew. We need to emphasize the fact that letting go of old stuff can be nourishing to the soul. This is the rule: Let go of anything that no longer sparks joy.
During the quarantine period, I also came across a Facebook group for Davao local sellers and buyers. In this group called “Support Local Davao”, local suppliers post the items that are currently on hand or those that are available for delivery. At the same time, some people also promote their professional services to those who might be interested to avail. I have to say that this group has helped me a lot in my needs!
There are so many reasons why I like Support Local Davao. The first one is how well-managed it is by the admins. All posts are approved before they are made public to all the members. Second, it provides a great opportunity for local businesses to showcase their products or for local professionals to highlight their services. If you know me, you are aware that I always have this fascination for supporting local. Third, through this group, I was able to actually support suppliers by buying stuff from them.
I also met someone from the group who helped me preserve flowers from the Notting Hill bouquet I received! Look at how pretty it is:
There is beauty in preserving things that are worth keeping for, right?
One of the industries that have been greatly affected by the pandemic is the food and business industry. While restaurants are now allowed to operate, they can only do so at a limited capacity. These establishments can only cater to 50% of their seating capacity. Moreover, some restaurant owners have decided to close their businesses because they can no longer keep up with the costs of running it without earnings coming in.
A good friend of mine, Joy, understands this situation. This is the reason why she has decided to offer her food photography services at discounted prices to homegrown food businesses in the Davao region. She did not mind not getting enough compensation for the work she does. For her, what matters is extending her hands to those who need a push for their food brands to be introduced in the market.
In these modern times, the way a seller or entrepreneur presents his brand in social media pages can affect his conversions and sales. Using high quality photos that evoke the emotions of the target market is essential to succeed in reaching out the right market. Up to this moment, my friend Joy still continues to work with local restaurants and hole-in-the-wall food establishments to help them stand out through their photos! Her works are available at Shoot with Joy Facebook page.
With all the chaos that is going around us, it can be challenging to find focus and calmness in our day-to-day lives. There are days when things suddenly become suffocating and all we want is a quick escape. If you read the news, you will find out that the number of people who are suffering from anxiety and depression has increased because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
This tells us that COVID-19 is not only attacking our immune system but also our mental and emotional wellness. This is why it is essential for us to invest in our health, both physically and mentally. Otherwise, we will end up being consumed by negativity to the point where we would no longer be interested to keep moving forward. It is such a blessing on my part to have discovered essential oils and its wonders! Since I started using essential oils, I became more at peace. At the same time, I was able to look for effective ways to keep myself grounded.
Since the local government unit of Davao has imposed quarantine regulations and even after the same have been lifted, I became comfortable with just staying at home. Since I do not always leave the house, unless there is something urgent at the law office or I need to attend an important meeting outside, I have a lot of free time to attend online classes about essential oils and read resources about them. This is how I started my oiling journey, and so far, it has been great!
The best part of all is that I’m not the only one who is doing these things! There are thousands of people out there who have also found joy in their essential oils. It is truly comforting to meet persons who have the same passion and interest as me. I started sharing my stories as an oiler in my personal Instagram page. Check the “Oils” highlights on my profile!
Under the new normal, people are now encouraged to stay at home. For this reason, schools have decided to transition to online classes. At the same time, some businesses have also changed the way they operate by allowing employees to work from home. It cannot be denied that this kind of set-up has been challenging for many individuals, especially those who are not yet used to getting things done in a remote or virtual environment. Aside from this, there are also issues associated with online classes such as difficulty in procuring devices and even limited Internet connection.
Nonetheless, this set-up has also provided more benefits that only few individuals noticed. Not everyone appreciates that working from home actually allowed people to make more time with their family. I even have friends who tell me that hustling from the comforts of their own home was such a blessing for them! These are the same people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, but they chose to keep going by finding online jobs. These friends of mine are dedicated and passionate about what they do, which made it easy for them to find some gigs from the online freelancing industry.
Working online has also forced people to master the art of time management. Otherwise, they cannot get things done. The truth is it can be difficult in the beginning, but once people get a hang of it, everything becomes so easy. The struggle usually starts only during the initial phase, which means that people just need to extend their patience as the situation will slowly improve the more they do it.
As you can see from these stories, there is always something beautiful around us that we need to take notice of. All we have to do is to take a moment to appreciate what we have and to be mindful of the positive side of things. Remember that your mindset affects your entire life! Living life in the new normal is not so bad after all, as long as we start to accept the situation and choose to move forward with a better perspective.
Let me end this post with a quote from Roy T. Bennett in his amazing work entitled “The Light in the Heart”:
“Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.”
These are amazing initiatives and yes focusing on the positives helps a lot during these dark times…That is what I am trying to do in my community.
“As you can see from these stories, there is always something beautiful around us that we need to take notice of. All we have to do is to take a moment to appreciate what we have and to be mindful of the positive side of things.”
Absolutely correct. If we keep focusing on the negative, we’ll remain stunted. Life has a lot more to offer.