I think we all started the 2021 New Year with hope and optimism. After all, every day is a new chance to live, love and be present. If 2020 wasn’t all we hoped for (!!) then 2021 was going to be an improvement on last year. Then again …

Here we all are. Isolated – to varying degrees. Stranded – in some cases. Physically distant from each other – or supposed to be, according to social distancing norms. Certainly, for all of us, there is an uncertain future.

For me, 2020 was to be yet another year of travel. On the way to Europe in March when borders started closing, my home country issued a ‘do not travel’ warning and asked citizens to come home. But I decided to stay ‘in transit’. Fortunately, this was in my  second home in Malaysia.

In past months, we’ve been through a hard lockdown, then extended restrictions. Cases of COVID, though, have been quite low and the situation stable enough for people to be out and about, to work and socialise – but with social-distancing and mask-wearing in place. As I write now, however, case numbers are rising and there is concern about hospitals being unable to cope. Welcome to 2021 around the world! A year later, I’m still ‘in place’.

My struggle has been that I’m not where I usually am. Home, that is. I miss my garden and being able to take walks in a leafy suburban neighbourhood. Living in a high-rise apartment for many months is proving to be a challenge. With no end in sight, I have needed to find resources to cope in this new environment; to manage stress and anxiety; maintain some sort of fitness within four walls! The focus has been on self-care. This is true for us all, no matter where we find ourselves and in whatever circumstances. Self-care in order to then care for others – in this year and beyond. 

What’s the plan?

I’m going to continue using colour, light and energy practices to help manage stress. Hopefully, this will also help with the physical limitations of apartment living and a more sedentary life. Most importantly, the goal is to stay as well and as healthy as possible. Until the world opens up again.

PS. It seems that this little colour.light.energy blog is having its own restart moment. It can be a focus and purpose, and a way to manage the ‘now’ …  however long that turns out to be. A few more months? Another year? There’s no way to know.

My hope is that this journey with colour, light and energy – and the support it gives me – may help and support others as well.

LEARN from yesterday

LIVE for today

HOPE for tomorrow

ALBERT EINSTEIN