Each day for the foreseeable future we here at PreKure are coming to you live at 8PM New Zealand-time on Facebook to talk about issues regarding COVID-19. Go to our Facebook page here.

 

“The best advice I’ve heard is to act as if you have the virus. You then can change your behaviour to be really mindful about minimising the spread. It’s the greatest thing that we can all do as we move through this situation together.”

How the world has changed in such a short period of time. I’m sad and disappointed to say that, we are following that exponential trajectory in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand reported its largest spike of cases today, 11 new cases, total number of 39 cases. Australia in the last week has moved from 168 cases to 822 cases. So we can see that exponential trend continuing. It’s doubling about every three days in Australia, and we see a similar thing happening in New Zealand. So we are well on our way towards a significant increase in the number of cases over the next weeks.

Earlier this week, I shared with you a series of questions that I think would be really interesting for you to consider on a daily basis.

I’d now like to share my answers to those questions today.

What expectations of normal am I letting go?

Friday is usually ‘Friyay’. This is a really different period where, as we start what is usually a period of recreation, fun and relaxation, we come with the trepidation and the feeling that it’s only going to get worse day by day. So there’s an expectation that I’m going to let go there.

What am I grateful for?

I am grateful for all of the healthcare workers at the front line, who are risking getting the virus, transmitting it themselves. And it’s not just healthcare workers. It’s people that are working in banks, shops, supermarkets, cleaners, janitors and hairdressers, that are trying to stay afloat during this period to keep society functioning.

It’s incredibly hard for some people to socially distance. We are facing that tension and the challenge between economics and health. There’s a lot of debate. There’s a lot of varying opinions. It must be incredibly difficult for our leaders.

Who am I checking in on and who am I connecting with?

Mostly my family and some of my closest friends. I spoke with my mom and dad today. I’m going to be calling my auntie. I had a pretty long chat with my sister, who has moved to home-schooling her four-year-old beautiful daughter, and the challenges that have come with that – “Am I doing the right thing? What’s going on?” I’m also going to check in with a friend of mine, a doctor, who is based at a very remote area of Western Australia. I’m going to make sure that he’s all right, and send him some funny jokes as well.

How am I getting outside and moving my body?

I’m working now from a part of my house where I’ve got some windows so I’m getting some sunshine. I’ve just been outside in the beautiful sun.

What beauty am I creating, curating or igniting today?

I love playing the piano. I was just playing it before and I thought, “Why don’t I just go on Facebook live and whoever is listening, I’m just going to play them my little ‘coronavirus song’.” It was a song that I think had a variety of different emotions and tones, and tension, and resolution, and uncertainty, and it was just beautiful. A friend of mine in the United States commented, “This is the most beautiful thing that I unexpectedly just woke up to”, and that comment made me happy.

There’s another question that I’d like to share with you and answer today:

What am I frustrated and angry about?

Social distancing. I see some people taking it really seriously, and other people still just don’t. The best advice that I’ve heard is to act as if  you have the virus, not like you’re trying to protect yourself from getting it. If you act like you have the virus, you then can change your behaviour to be really mindful about minimising the spread. It’s the greatest thing that we can all do as we move through this situation together. A friend of mine said, “How about we just communicate healthy distancing?”. And remember, even with that distance, we can still stay connected.

Lastly, I’d like to share a quote that I read. It presents a reframe. Reframing is something that we teach in coaching. It’s about looking at a situation differently. How can we reframe it? And that’s not to say that we can’t be with the fact that this is a challenging, anxiety-provoking and fearful situation. We’re just saying, how can we look at it from different perspectives?

It’s called “This Can Be Our Finest Hour” and it was written by Gretchen Schmelzer.

“When the Apollo 13 oxygen tank failed and the lunar module was in danger of not returning to the earth, Gene Kranz, the lead flight director, overheard people saying that this could be the worst disaster that NASA had ever experienced, to which he is rumoured to have responded, ‘With all due respect, I believe this is going to be our finest hour.’

Imagine if we could make our response to the coronavirus crisis our finest hour. Imagine if a year or two from now, we looked back on this and told the stories of how we came together as a team in our community, in our state, in our nation, and across the world. Your contribution to the finest hour may seem small, invisible, inconsequential, but every small act of not doing what you were going to do and doing an act of kindness or support will add up exponentially. These acts can save and will save lives.

The Apollo 13 crew made it their finest hour by letting go of the word ‘I’ and embracing the word ‘we’. And that’s the task required of us. It can only be our finest hour if we work together. You are all on the team and we need all of you to shine in whatever way you can.”