Three months ago who would have thought that our world would be in partial commercial and social shutdown as we face a global pandemic? We have all had to come to terms with life lived quite differently in a short space of time. it seems to me that it has a few parallels with wartime - food shortages, governments largely dictating our everyday lives with new restrictions and rules and people dying because of an 'enemy'.
In Australia, so far, the sickness and death toll have largely been contained. Our pain seems to be far more related to isolation from friends and family, the inability to travel and, for those who have lost their jobs, employment uncertainty and a replacement wage which may not be anywhere near their usual salary.
These are consequences not to be made light of. However, since the first few weeks of doom and gloom I have detected a real sense of 'pulling together' and making positives out of a difficult situation. Much like in wartime, neighbours and friends are making an effort to share resources, to offer help and to do whatever they can with limited freedom and limited resources.
And so I would like to offer you the idea that this a great time to think about the health and fitness in your life, and also in your family's life.
Stuck at home we now have the opportunity, even the necessity to buy and prepare our own meals - no more restaurant nights or work lunches! With the lack of a time consuming commute, we have extra time to devote to some exercise, some cooking, to make dinner preparation a little less frenetic and to take time to involve children in the process as well as time to look up and try new recipes.
Certainly flexibility is needed - the usual staples that we use such as pasta, rice and flour have been in short supply. But necessity does after all breed invention, and this presents a chance to try new grains, vegetable alternatives and to have a little fun!
I have created a group on facebook to share 'kitchen hacks' for this season of covid 19. What a great response I have had from people! So many have shared recipes, shopping tips and amazing pictures of their efforts in the kitchen at fermenting, baking, bread and cheese making. I am so impressed at how people have embraced the challenge and gone above and beyond. There are gardening ideas and tips too, so that we can move towards growing more of our own foods. What positive initiatives!
If you'd like to check some of this out, please join the group! The more people sharing their knowledge and experiences in this time, the better we will all come out of it. Personally I hope that the lessons learnt and the slower pace at which we are living lasts beyond the virus.