When you are not able to go to your favorite cafe that has that all time favorite muffin of yours or local coffee hang out to catch up with your nearest and dearest get, throw a tea towel over your shoulder turn up the tunes and get some therapeutic home baking done! shake and bake!
Many of us may be starting to get a little stir crazy being stuck indoors at the moment. Whether it is working from home during the Covid 19 social restrictions or as the days get shorter and cooler with winter approaching. Although all our lives are being affected in some way during these uncertain and constantly changeable times, if you change your focus there are many positives to come from dark times. If you need some warming up on the inside and want to feel good about nourishing your body at the same time get baking, recipe at the end of my Covid thoughts below.
Change forces us to make moves in our life, use our creativity, make time or maybe we find ourselves with more time to think, stop and take a breath. We humans are amazing resourceful, cleaver beings and when change is forced upon our normal life it is incredible how we can adapt. As an individual, a family unit, a work place or a country we are able to adapt to change and it has been this way for millennia.
I find myself thinking how fortunate I am that I live in the day and age that I do, that I am able to call Tasmania, our little island state home. During the past five years travelling through the pacific with my husband, accessing and spending time in remote islands, immersing ourselves in local culture, I have found myself in awe of individuals and communities that often have very little financially or materialistically, but as long as they have access to good food, shelter and love their faces are smiling and laughing, they are generous and giving, proud and content with their life. I have always appreciated my island home but I must admit, it is in times like this Covid 19 pandemic and being 37 weeks pregnant, knowing I am responsible for this little human, that I feel so fortunate and content to call Tasmania home. Our population is in check with our resources. With flights being cancelled on the daily and borders being closed we become more isolated from the mainland and the world. So is there need to panic, to start stocking the shelves in our pantry with rice, pasta and toilet paper… No we have fresh water, quality and bountiful fresh food to feed our community, surrounded by ocean we have fresh aquaculture and with spacious green grass lands, top quality meat. Plenty of hydro to power the state and share with the mainland, we have space and fresh air that allows us to get outside in nature to recharge our primal batteries without breaking social distancing rules. This is the closest Tasmania has ever been to being cut off from the world in my life time and it feels like we are going to be just fine. In fact is is encouraging us all to support local and appreciate our “two headed imbred cousin” reputation more than ever.
Today, in 2020 we have the technology to make social isolation and being separate from our our friends and loved ones, just a face time call away, a surprise package to brighten someones day in the mail, a long email with plenty of photo attachments, or a group catch up on zoom. For some living in third world countries this luxury is not an option but it still amazes me that even then, human’s can and will find creative ways to communicate and entertain themselves. I watched a movie recently that was about and individuals struggles with mental health and the take home message for me was to appreciate the simple things in life always, take time to appreciate the natural world around you. It is often the ones with the least, who have lost the most or fought the toughest battles who complain the least. There are many people out there struggling emotionally, financially and physically sometimes this is kept below the surface. Although the current changes we face are keeping many of us apart I think its a time to come together, stay in touch, get in contact with a friend, check up on your grandma, support each other take care of one another and yourself !!
…. Bake someone some muffins ;)