FIVE BOOKS FOR COROREFLECTION
So, I woke up on the second day of the lockdown and thought it wise to start a WhatsApp post called Cororeflections. Daily thoughts for your lockdown relief. My first post was on deep introspection as this is a good time for such. On our 2nd week now and we have looked at different themes […]
So, I woke up on the second day of the lockdown and thought it wise to start a WhatsApp post called Cororeflections. Daily thoughts for your lockdown relief. My first post was on deep introspection as this is a good time for such. On our 2nd week now and we have looked at different themes including what to read at this time, cooking for the family (and it does not have to be just the women in the house) among other things. I have also looked at the theme of forgiveness, the theme of staying glued to the TV and becoming depressed. I have asked people not to stay glued to the TV the whole day long and just binge watch because too much bad news can be unnerving.
I have also asked those who are in debt to think about paying up as this is not terrific, when you bring another person in debt because of your own debt and act as if everything is okay. I have, as always, encouraged fellow lock downers to read a book to open the mind. So today we are going to recommend books in line with introspection and your understanding that we are all now co-equals in lockdown as one of my posts say. Your most beautiful dress is pretty irrelevant now and your competition with Mary is now shut down. Let us also spare a thought for the dead and the grieving in these difficult times. Let us reflect a little bit. It is exactly why the almighty has us all locked down, so we can meditate, be inspiring, be kind and love one another better. Also to help us change our ways. Are we constantly abusive, are we always offending someone? Time to change our parade.
1. Let us begin our thoughts today on forgiveness. In my post, I ask if you are still holding onto someone who offended you two years ago and I advise that you call today and let go. I also advise that the person in question who has angered someone so badly should show remorse. Forgiveness is hard and it is not always that people show remorse after they have relentlessly offended you. Forgive anyway. Because they go their way and your lack of forgiveness does not give you a good quality of life and is eating you up. Read Colin Tipping’s book. Radical forgiveness, a revolutionary five stage process to heal relationships, let go of anger and blame and find peace in any situation. Hard but doable. Call that person today and offer them forgiveness even if they throw it back at you.
2. I have always said as loud as I can that cooking is therapeutic. Let even the worse chef in your home, cook something today during this lock down and it does not have to be mummy. If you have no recipe book look to google. We can encourage bonding and community by cooking and eating together. The lock down is an opportunity. The Healing Kitchen is a good book to read and use at this time. The rider on the book is healthy foods cooked without sacrificing flavour. There are recipes here of natural foods that mitigate simple ailments. Written by Alaena Haber and Sarah Ballantyre it has more than 175 recipes of healthy cooking.
3. I have been working in the media near for nearly forty years and I know what it is like to work up content for the viewer. Repetitions of the number of dead in the course of the pandemic can be scary, so ease out of the media a little. Too much information can make you depressed. Read a child’s cartoon. Stay away from all day TV. Read about Snoopy. Read Charlie brown. Read Asterix. They not only improve your vocabulary; they also give you something to laugh at. Give the media a break.
4. I have been working in the media near for nearly forty years and I know what it is like to work up content for the viewer. Repetitions of the number of dead in the course of the pandemic can be scary, so ease out of the media a little. Too much information can make you depressed. Read a child’s cartoon. Stay away from all day TV. Read about Snoopy. Read Charlie brown. Read Asterix. They not only improve your vocabulary; they also give you something to laugh at. Give the media a break.
5. Your life is not your own by Seth Adam Smith. This book is about living for others and enriching your life by being selfless. The world is full of self-absorption, corruption and greed and inequalities. Seth lived a selfish life and was an addict and at some point tried to commit suicide. It’s important to empty yourself for others where you can and find peace in charity. With a different perspective to life, he was a missionary in Russia and also worked in the Amazon forest. His life changed considerably. What have you done for the less privileged today. After all of this commit to visiting an IDP camp and be grateful for your life.