ICYMI, we’ll be transitioning into Phase 3 (Heightened Alert) on June 14, which means new measures will kick in and, if the Covid-19 situation remains under control, some restrictions will be eased.
It’s probably safe to say that we’re all looking forward to it — the past month of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) has not been without challenges. Nonetheless, in spending a lot more time at home, a lot of us have grown to be more contemplative, as have many of our local celebs and female thought leaders. Here’s a roundup of their insightful perspectives on the bittersweet P2HA period.
How’s everyone doing this #p2ha? Just a note to check in.
As for myself, when it was first announced, I thought I would be fine. We got through two months of #circuitbreaker; we got this 2.0 version, no problem, right?
What I didn’t expect was the dark cloud that descended upon me yesterday morning. Could not go to church (all masses yesterday were cancelled to work out the new limitation of 50 pax) nor have lunch out with my folks. Could not have lunch out at all.
To cheer myself up, I then took to this space to savour the wonderful memories I had on Friday and Saturday, only to be hit by some negativity from concerned people (“only 2 people, not 5 allowed!”).
I like to think this came from a place of real concern, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed that in their eagerness to nitpick and spot wrongdoings, they were totally blinded to facts (that I was posting from the day before) and also totally missed the point in sharing my joy of appreciating the beauty of nature.
I saw influencer types use their account to post videos of people who went viral for not wearing a mask; shaming others to get likes and engagement; promoting this culture of self-righteousness and tattletaling, and I felt so sad for the state of humanity.
Could that time and considerable influence not have been used in a kinder, and more productive way?
Perhaps these errant people suffer from mental conditions we don’t know of? It is very easy to judge and condemn, but we honestly don’t know the whole story. At least for me, when in doubt, I really try my best to err on the side of compassion and kindness.
Feeling sad and dejected, I went to walk the dogs with the bestie, went to bed early-ish, had a good night’s sleep, and woke to start 60 days of #Insanityworkout with my friends on Zoom this morning. I am in a much better headspace now.
What hit me was the realisation that I cannot change culture to stop this sort of blaming and shaming witch-hunting.
What I can do is to choose to unfollow, and to use whatever influence I have on my side to try and spread a culture of more tolerance and understanding.
Hope you’re doing better today too. Stay safe, and remember to be grateful. ♥
Five things I want to do more of now that we should be staying in as much as possible:
1) Resume cooking!! Admittedly, I really shoved this aside when things started getting busier and I was physically running around a lot more for work. I saw and felt a difference eating at least one home cooked meal a day – even if it’s something as simple as a frozen fruit smoothie or overnight oats for breakfast!
2) Get my hands busy with more plants and flowers! When I was a teenager, I could barely keep a cactus alive. From then on, I always felt like I wasn’t cut out to take care of anything 🥵 However, my recent success with repotting several plants then seeing them flourish really encouraged me! More photos of my plant babies soon! 🌱
3) Constantly evolve and tailor our takeaway menu at @izyfook to your needs and wants! We’ve come up with sets and dishes that are affordable, hearty and delicious. Keep a lookout and follow us @izyfook 🔥
4) Meditate and read every morning! I totally abandoned this as well in the recent months. I’ve got two books that have been left half read for too long now. Unacceptable! 😡
5) Get out of my comfort zone and explore different social media platforms. This includes being more consistent with @clubhouse chats! Hosting weekly rooms require a lot of planning, commitment and time. You’ll definitely see a lot more of us on CH in the coming weeks!
That was long. Thanks for coming to my TED talk 🤣
Inhale, exhale…I didn’t expect we’d have to go back to phase 2 and I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not sad, but a friend reminded me today of the importance of staying positive to keep us going during challenging times and to count our blessings for the things that we do have! To me it’s also a good reminder of how precious the time we spend together is and that it should never be taken for granted. Please take care, stay safe and see you all in a month
I miss the power of going through the wardrobe, dress up and charging through the day and owning it ♥️ who feels the same?
But for now, keep the spirit high and the community numbers low. It’s just a phase and we will get through it like we did and yay to meeting friends and family again, soon!
Take time to take stock and internalise, never a better time to progress together with the same consciousness. Better together ♥️
Looking into the next phase…keep your head up. Nothing is forever, everything has an expiry date and you might stumble, fail but know you are made of stronger things and you will, you will, stand up stronger. You got this. 💪🏻 Yesterday’s news in 🇸🇬 took me by surprise (due to my overly optimistic outlook) 🙄and I was left feeling deflated. Today I realize things are out of my control, and I just need to ride the wave. There will be highs and lows, and as each day passes, we grow, learn and when we look back, it will feel like just a little blip in our whole life.
Hi all~ How have you been? With the additional restrictions under Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), I noticed that people around me (including myself), are more stressed out and feeling a little more anxious.
I previously shared my struggles on my mental health journey and it took me a lot of courage to talk about it. While it is great that the topic of mental health is gradually destigmatized, I also understand that starting a conversation on it – is not easy. Hence, I feel that we all need to learn how to respond and be mindful when it comes to this topic.
For a start, an off-handed comment, a harmless sharing of post, and even a simple ‘like’ can convey implicit messages that can be dangerous, especially so when it encourages someone to do things that might put themselves in danger. So let’s #PauseBeforeYouPost and learn how to #chatsafe about suicide. Visit @samaritansofsingapore or sos.org.sg/chatsafe for more information 💙
We are sent signs all the time in the form of our instincts and intuition. That’s why we practice mindfulness.. so that our communication channels with ourselves are clear enough to hear what our soul wants us to know.
Meditation, journaling, slow walks in nature, yoga.. these practices to help us pause, check in with ourselves and listen to the signs our body is telling us.
It’s only when we start listening and honouring the messages that the trust is formed. Once we have trust within ourselves, we can expand the trust to the unknown.
Especially in uncertain times like now.. all we can do is trust. With trust we can surrender, cease resistance, and find our flow.
The universe has our backs. Sending love and light to you today. 🦋
Got some real good news today and I’ve never appreciated my body & being more than I do today. Good job geng! We are fighters!
I’ve been so out of my biscuits lately (I believe this is a term I just made up hahah) about so many things but today’s the first day I’m finally able to crawl out of this odd funk and see things with a little less haze in my eyes. Hence this photo, wow wow… Got sunlight everything. Hahah.
If you’re in a weird place too, what’s been helping me is speaking to my powwow people, who have been lifting me up soooo damn high… Even when I stay sooo annoyingly stubborn heehee. 😬 Just talk it out. Sometimes saying things out helps me to acknowledge what’s really going on. I also sometimes talk to my plants. They don’t say much back but they listen.
That time a couple of months back, when me and BFF were stuck in an underpass cos it rained heavily suddenly whilst we were exploring a mysterious part of Chinatown…
But we had fun despite having to sit down on the dirty side walk (in our pretty clothes hahha 😂), in the terribly humidly hot place we had not a chance to get out of unless the rain stops!
Thankfully, I brought along a little fan that was really a must have whenever I go filming 😅
It’s like that, life. Wait out a bit before the thunder stops. And am pretty sure the current storm will dwindle to a stop too. 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻✨