The time I went ferrel.
The time I was allowed to become ferrel is now over. I’m not talking about living in a forest eating nuts and berries while running about with hardly any clothes on – although I do have friends who may have done that! I’m talking about three months at home, being bra-less and gardening in bare feet. Very hairy legs and my hair looking like a birds nest, but not really caring much, and only putting a smidge of make up on when I went to Sainsburys every ten days. I saw no clients for seventeen weeks!
The panic still ebbs and flows.
Everyone has a different experience during the Lockdown phase. Most business owners will have gone through the whole range of emotions – ‘We are all going to die; no one will come back to me and that’s 30 years of work down the drain; I need to diversify; I need to put my work online; I must rest; I must bake more; I must plant vegetables and be self sufficient and …… I don’t want to go back to work ever again!’
Thanks to the internet we could stay connected.
I am grateful that we had the ability to connect with friends through the internet and many people could continue to work from home. Gratitude is the key to everything. Showing gratitude for those who continued to work throughout the transition is also key, as we all have a different part to play. These are the the people desperate for a holiday. They need to feel the sunshine on their skin and listen to the ebb and flow of the tide. Just because I have completed my little ferrel sabbatical, doesn’t mean that others aren’t needing theirs. I can highly recommend a few days without make up, and the need to wash your feet.
We still need to rest and heal.
As we are starting to ease out of Lockdown most people have forgotten the underlying reason why this has happened in the first place, and some never need to know, or won’t understand. The planet is re-setting herself. Whatever your political views, and your opinions on masks and current restrictions, the bottom line is that we need to pay attention to the bigger picture.
Taking your attention within, and settling down while Mother Nature does her thing. She’s still recalibrating and we are just ignoring her again, because of the need to get the economy back to some normality. Businesses are diversifying, but we are still wary going out.
Everyone is different
Some days I just feel fine about the whole thing, because I know we are still in the transition phase. I can revert back to bare feet gardening, breathe deep and create amazing things in my studio. Other days I feel that I should be going out and supporting shops, but I also have moments of anxiety – YES, I am human too! I’ve had enough of being told I could die if I don’t wipe my supermarket trolley, and that I am selfish because I think that wearing masks in a supermarket when there is plenty of room is bonkers. Let’s all go to the pub and not wear one, but when we can stay 2m away in a shop it’s mandatory. The ferrel feeling is much more pleasurable than going shopping. Be more ferrel and connect with the planet!
So, I’m doing what I feel is right for ME.
It’s far from over, and a new amazing world is coming through. We just need to get through the next sticky patch. Being a bit ferrel in the garden while I’ve been on an enforced sabbatical has been amazing! I’ve also eaten lunch every day, created a whole body of work for the exhibition in September, and I’ve lost count of the number of loaves of bread I have baked! I’m now ready to go back to work with clients. Nice and steady. I’m not rushing to work 12 hour days to fit everyone in. There is a process involved.
One thing is certain, my make up brushes are still clean but the hairdryer may need to be dusted off!
Take your time. Have a go at standing on the soil with bare feet.
There is still time to feel the ferrel-ness with you.
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